Crimson: The Four Outlaws
by Desperadoy
Summary: This is my first story, k? Anyway, this is about a group of outlaws trying to escape the authorities of Rune Midgard. They eventually find a new purpose in life as vigilantes. NOTE: This is NOT part of Tom Valor's Crimson Twilight universe.
1. Good Morning, Desert Sunshine

This is my first story about a party of four: Yoshiro, a bespectacled gunslinger, Senzo the Fire Wizard, Haru the blind alchemist and Suzuka the Soul Linker.

CHAPTER 1: GOOD MORNING, DESERT SUNSHINE

It was a cold, dark night in the streets of Morroc and four young travelers were shivering in an alley.

"Damn, it's cold…," Yoshiro whispered, "Senzo, can't you light us a fire?"

"Nope," Senzo replied, "Do you really want the police to find us here?"

"We can't afford to show even a shimmer of light, Yoshiro," said Haru, "I can sense that this alley is so dark, even a spark would give us away."

Yoshiro sighed, closed his eyes, and tried to sleep. He kept waking up, though; he's always thinking of something, and that something keeps him up. It's been four hours since Haru and Senzo were asleep.

"…You're still awake?" a girl's voice asked.

"Yeah, Suzuka…" Yoshiro answered.

"Are you still thinking about her?" Suzuka asked, "That was 13 years ago, Yoshiro. When are you gonna move on?"

"Angel may forgive me, but I can never forgive myself." Yoshiro's words almost never matched his expression. Yoshiro was talking mournfully, but he was still smiling. He never understood it, himself.

The next morning, the four wore hoods to hide their faces. Walking along the streets, they stop to see a flyer on the wall of a pub.

WANTED FOR MURDER

Wanted for the murder of Nazamaka Tori, Reward 500,000z each

KUROYA YOSHIRO

TAISEN SENZO

OZAWA HARU

MASAKI SUZUKA

"Nice, our set is worth two million now," said Senzo.

"I can't believe Sensei's murder was pinned on us…," said Suzuka, "Now we're fleeing from authorities for a crime we never committed!"

They walk into the crowd before them, pushing through passers-by. The crowd was full of merchants and dealers, so many people were trading there.

"We best stock up," said Haru, "How much money have we got?"

The four dug through their pockets, but came up with nothing but cheap jellopies.

"Well… all we can afford is… apples," Yoshiro said cheerfully.

The four kept walking, to keep the powerful desert winds of Morroc from blowing their hoods away, they held on tightly. It was bright, sunny and crowded, and blowing their cover now would have pretty messy results. They walked to Prontera, because the heat was already too much for them to handle (Both from the cops and the sun.). However, on the way to Midgard's capital, they ran into an unexpected surprise

"What the hell…," Senzo said, "…was that sound?!"

Haru knelt down and placed his fingertips against the desert sand.

"Hodes… and Sandmen…," He said.

"Umm… Haru?" Suzuka called, "That's not all."

They were surrounded by Desert Wolves. Soon after, the Hodes and Sandmen popped out of the ground. There were probably hundreds of them mobbing this party of four. They closed in…

"Esma!" Suzuka shouted. She pointed her hand, which started to glow red, at one of the enemies. A disc of red energy shot out of her hand and towards a hode.

The hode dropped dead, but 5 sandmen were closing in on Yoshiro.

"Big mistake," Yoshiro said coolly, as he adjusted his glasses, "Desperado!"

Yoshiro held his pistols out to his sides and pummeled the surrounding sandmen with bullets.

"This is hopeless!" Senzo yelled, "This is our last hope! Cover me!"

Senzo held out his staff, chanting a spell that nobody could understand, "_Accio aborior... deflagratio hostilis..."_

He stopped and looked at his partymates.

"RUN!"

Meteors rained from the sky and they ran for their lives. The meteors were closing in, they won't make it. Suddenly, Suzuka spotted a hole in the ground.

"In here!" she said.

The party jumped into the hole. It wasn't a pleasant hole, either. It was lined with what looked like a creature's ribs. The hole looked similar to a leech's mouth. They quickly fell into the darkness below.

Rate and comment, pls!


	2. Good EVening, Ant Hell

They fell with a loud thud and passed out. They woke up later and found themselves in a strange cave…

CHAPTER 2: GOOD EVENING, ANT HELL

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"Where the hell are we?" Yoshiro groaned.

Senzo snapped his fingers and lit an ember from his fingertips to reveal their location. The place lit up and they saw that they fell into a cave or burrow of some sort. Senzo checked to see if everyone was alright.

Senzo called their names, "Haru? Suzuka? Spex?" "Spex" was Yoshiro's nickname among his less serious buddies, specifically, Senzo and… Senzo.

"I'm fine, I landed on something soft," said Suzuka.

"Mm-Hmm," mumbled Haru.

Yoshiro simply gave Senzo a thumbs up when Senzo pointed the ember in front of him.

Suddenly, Suzuka screeched, "Eek!"

She discovered that the "something soft" she landed on were gigantic insect eggs. In fact, they were surrounded by those eggs, and most of them looked ready to hatch.

"Whoops, Suzuka landed on some eggs... haha." Yoshiro said with a chuckle.

Haru asked Yoshiro, "What color are the eggs?"

Yoshiro replied, "Yellowish, similar to chicken eggs, but I think they have a softer shell…"

"Andre eggs," Haru told them. Haru was a genius in the field of Biology, though he couldn't read because of his blindness. Sensei read Haru's books to him.

"Let's get out of here," Suzuka said, wiping the gooey fluids off her butt. (Don't get any ideas, pervs.)

"We can't," Yoshiro said. The hole was deep, very deep. They couldn't climb back up.

They decided to explore the cave and hopefully, find another exit. They passed a few Andres and Deniros that, luckily for them, ignore them.

They searched and searched and searched but found nothing. They felt hopeless, like flies on flypaper, waiting to starve to death. They searched until midnight, Yoshiro practically dragging himself along the floor. Haru collapsed, and Suzuka was on the verge of breaking out in tears.

"It's hopeless!" Senzo screamed, "HOPELESS!"

"Shut up, Senzo, your enthusiasm is too helpful!" Suzuka said sarcastically.

"We need to rest here." said Yoshiro. He helped Haru to his feet. "Haru, we need some firewood."

"Alright..." mumbled Haru. He took a bottle from one of his pockets and poured its contents on the ground, soon after a few geographers sprouted out and started snapping wildly

Yoshiro killed them from a distance. They trimmed off the wood, which Senzo used to start a fire. They gathered around the newly lit and campfire told each other stories to try to shake off their despair.

Suzuka started her story first: "Sensei took me when I was a small child. I was a only six when my mother died. I was walking home from school when I saw my mother on the road. I asked her what she was doing there, but she just smiled and told me to be a good girl. She told me that whatever path I took from there, it would be my choice.

"I didn't understand it until I got home. People were gathering around my house and I walked into the crowd, wondering what was going on. There I saw, Mama, with a knife in her heart, lying dead with her eyes wide open. I was scared by the sight, so I ran. I ran and ran until I bumped into a stranger. The man told me I had linked my soul to my mother's, and he told me that's why I saw her along the road, even though she was already dead.

"He, Sensei, took me and introduced me to you guys, and said that you were just like me, special, full of ability and potential, lacking only a home." She smiled at them.

"I'm next!" Senzo said, "I was raised by a rich family known for its fireworks business. We lived in a town that hated wizardry, and my family feared we might be found out and driven away for being fire magi. We _were_ found out. The townspeople formed an angry mob that rallied in front of our manor. My parents and siblings were having dinner then, while I was playing outside.

"I don't know what happened, exactly. A strange man told me that a mob had broken into the house and ignited the fireworks in the storeroom. I only saw rubble, ash, and whatever remained of our home. All I could find in the ruins was this," he held up a picture of his parents, "Nothing else. The man told me that the mob had taken my parents' bodies and burned them by the chapel. He told me to come with him and I did… and so here we are!"

"Not much for me," said Haru, "I never knew my parents, and my only friends were flowers and trees, until now, of course," he acknowledged his teammates, "Anyway, one day, Sensei just came over and took me, haha!." This was quite unusual for Haru, he almost never laughed, only smiled. Maybe he only laughed to keep his hopes up.

"_Angel…_" Yoshiro thought, before starting his story, "Angel was so young... we were together and we never thought we would part... One day, my newfound pride got her killed..."

Yoshiro bowed his head for a moment and continued... "I've decided since that day... As penance for what I had done, I'll never love another girl for as long as I live..."

"A bit extreme, don't you think?" said Suzuka, "I mean, how do you know if it's true love if you were so young?"

"If it's not true, why do you think I held that vow all these years?"

The storytelling was cut short when he saw a woman creeping up behind Haru. Or did he? Was it a woman? Was it even human? It had the body of a giant mantis-like insect and the body of a naked woman from its neck up.

"Haru, behind you!" Yoshiro warned.

Suzuka turned her head and saw it too.

"It's the Maya!" Suzuka said, "We're in her nest! We're in Ant Hell!"

Maya edged closer, behind her thousands of other insects gathered next to her. The Andre eggs had hatched.

"Crap!" Yoshiro cursed, drawing his pistols from the holsters.

They cautiously edge away, Haru with his Axe at the ready.

Maya let out an ear-shattering shriek and lunged towards them, followed by her children. The four of them ran in panic. They could never hope to defeat the Maya and her spawn.

The ants were gaining on them.

Instinctively, Senzo barricaded their pursuers, "Fire Wall!"

The ants were taken aback. Even Maya was terrified by the fire. Suddenly, more ants came from the other side, straight towards the four. Yoshiro was strafing backwards, keeping the ants away with some cover fire.

_BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!_

"Oh, god!" Suzuka screamed as the ants were slowly swallowing them up.

They fought their way through the horde, now walking through a waist-deep colony of ants. Before they knew it, they were moving towards the hole they came from.

_BANG! BANG! BANG!_

"It's not working!" yelled Yoshiro as he stomped the ants away.

He aimed one of his guns at the Maya. Maybe if the Maya died, the ants would leave them alone?

_BANG!_

The bullet hit Maya square in the forehead, but no dice, it only made her mad.

"_SCREEEECH!!"_

This was bad. It was better to simply run.

Now, they were almost completely swallowed up by the ants, facing certain doom.

Yoshiro looked up to where they fell from. "_Yes! That's how!_" he thought. He found a way to escape, "Guys! Let the ants rise!"

"Have you fucking lost your mind?!" Senzo bellowed at his crazy idea.

"I've already lost it long ago, Senz! Swim to the hole! We can get out of here!"

Hesitant at first, the four headed to the hole, Yoshiro pulling Haru to make sure he got there. They let the ants rise and before they knew it, they were near the surface.

Stomping down the ants, they climbed out of the hole and touched the desert sand once more.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Senzo said, noticing the ants struggling to get out, too, "Fire Wall!"

The barrier covered the hole like a red transparent lid. Senzo pointed his fingers to the sky and shouted, "_Fira Pluo!_"

Bolts of fire rained from the heavens and into the Ant Hell's entrance, driving most of the ants back in and killing a few Andres in the process.

They collapsed on the ground, panting heavily and laughing.

"So…" Senzo said to Yoshiro, "You still have those apples, Spex?"

Rate and comment please, I'll try to update as often as I can!

* * *

_A few comments from some of my readers_

"_Sweet chapter, dude! You're my hero!" –Me_

"_Nice story! You're the best there is!" –Also me_

"_You're so friggin hot!" –My imaginary fangirls_


	3. Worth More Each Day

I'll give you the character bios in chapter 5.

--

"Yup, I still got the apples," Yoshiro said.

He opened his bag filled with about a dozen apples, eight of which were stolen. He passed each of his buddies an apple. They each took a bite from their purchased fruits/stolen food products.

They finished their dinner

"God, I miss Sensei's cooking," Senzo said.

"Me too," said Yoshiro, "Now let's get moving. We already met Maya; I don't wanna meet Phreeoni, too!"

They got up and proceeded to leave the desert, hoping that somehow they'll get lucky enough to find some shelter while still hiding their identities

CHAPTER 3: WORTH MORE EACH DAY- IS THAT GOOD OR BAD?

They walked and walked until sand was replaced by grass. They were getting close, but the commotion in Ant Hell had left them exhausted; they would probably collapse again. The sun rose up now, and the heat wasn't helping them.

They saw a house in the forest and knock at the door. The door opened and they're greeted by a lumberjack.

The lumberjack was short and plump, sporting a brown beard and a friendly-looking face.

"Whoa! What happened to you kids?" The lumberjack said, after seeing them in their current state.

"We were walking for days, looking for shelter!" Suzuka pleaded, hoping to get the lumberjack's sympathy, "Please help us!"

The lumberjack was hesitant, looking at them very carefully. Convinced, he let them in. They were greeted by the lumberjack's wife and 5 year old son.

"Hello!" greeted the wife.

"Hello indeed, my name is Ganz, this is my wife, Lana and my son, Glen" said the lumberjack

"I don't get a lot of visitors around here," said Ganz, "Sorry, I only have one extra mattress; but it's good for two!"

Ganz's words about the "good for two" mattress brought up an uncomfortable silence in the room. Obviously, Suzuka would get the mattress; but who would get its other half? Yoshiro, Haru and Senzo were all close to Suzuka but not close enough to share the same bed with her!

Later that night, the three guys decided to sleep on the floor while Suzuka got the mattress all to herself. They were already fed and they all had their baths, courtesy of the kind lumberjack. They have a conversation before going to sleep:

"Wow, I got used to sleeping while looking at the night sky...," Yoshiro sleepily said, "Heh, I finally learned to appreciate roofs…"

"Yeah...," Senzo said, "That old lumberjack's alright…"

"He's a bit like Sensei, huh? He saw that we had nowhere else to go and he took us in," Haru said, smiling with his eyes closed.

"Yup... We owe them both now," said Suzuka.

They drift away and fall asleep. It wasn't a smooth night for Senzo, though; he was having a nightmare. He was witnessing the burning of his parents by the chapel the day his mansion was destroyed.

"Mom... Dad... Haven't you done enough to them...? Stop...Leave my parents alone...," Senzo was moaning in his sleep.

Suddenly, warmth spread over Senzo's body. He was being embraced by a woman; he couldn't tell who, he kept his eyes closed. He just wanted to be held by this mysterious woman.

"It'll be okay, I'm here," the woman said, "You'll be alright with me."

Senzo stopped mumbling and fell silent. He slept soundly after that.

The next morning, Haru woke up. Yoshiro hands Haru's blindfold to him and helps him up.

"Haru, there's something these two haven't been telling us," Yoshiro said.

"What do you mean, Yoshiro?" asked Haru.

"Hehe... If only you could see."

"What?"

Senzo and Suzuka were in each other's arms, lying on the mattress. Senzo's head was rested on Suzuka's chest, as if listening to her heartbeat.

"Hey, wake up, lovebirds, we don't wanna abuse Ganz's hospitality," Yoshiro said, shaking Senzo and Suzuka awake.

"Wha-what?" Senzo mumbled.

"Is it morning...?" Suzuka asked, yawning.

She looked down and saw Senzo looking up at her.

Suzuka turned beet-red and said, "Stop groping me, you pervert!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Senzo pleaded, blushing hard as well.

In truth, Suzuka really meant to hug Senzo that night, but she couldn't help it. You really can't deny anything in your sleep.

They got dressed and packed their things. Before leaving, they looked for Ganz to thank him. They walked into the dining room and saw Ganz slumped on the table, a bottle of liquor was next to him.

"Mr. Ganz? We're going now, thank you for everything," Suzuka told the lumberjack.

Suddenly, the Ganz picked up his axe and ran towards them, striking to kill.

Instinctively, Yoshiro pulled out one of his guns and fired, hitting the axe's hilt, sending it flying out of Ganz's hand and into a wall.

Yoshiro grabbed him by the collar and pinned him to a wall.

"What the hell, man?!" Yoshiro shouted at their attacker.

Ganz just stared at them, looking at them with a guilty face.

"I'm sorry... I need the money," he said, "A gang is threatening to kill me and my family if I don't pay for their protection..."

He hands them a crumpled piece of paper. A tear rolled down, his face.

Yoshiro opened the crumpled paper ball

"What?! 'Wanted for murder of Nazamaka Tori, Reward 1 million each'?! The prices on our heads doubled overnight!"

"Shit," Senzo cursed.

Yoshiro let go of Ganz

"I'm sorry, sir..."

Lana came out of the bedroom when she saw the scene.

"What's going on, Honey?"

She was followed by Glen, who was rubbing his eyes.

"Daddy? What're you playing?" asked the boy, who was too naïve to notice that his father almost killed someone.

Senzo looked at Lana and Glen, then at Ganz. Senzo wanted to help them; Ganz was only protecting his family, after all.

"Sir, when is the deadline?"

"Next week," Ganz replied

"Let us stay until then... We'll drive them away and they'll never bother you again."

"Senz...," Yoshiro said worriedly.

"I've found a way to clear our names, Spex!"

--

-End of chapter

See? Didn't expect a love scene, did ya? Anyway, it's 1:06 and I'm finally done with chapter 3, I'll keep updating, guys!

Over and out,

amielrox


	4. From Rogues to Rescuers

Chapter 4, comin' atcha!

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"'Clear our names'?? Senz, where are you getting at?" asked Yoshiro

"We'll be vigilantes!" Senzo announced enthusiastically, "We'll help those in need, good word will spread about us and then authorities will start to question our accusations!"

"Senzo... You're crazy."

"Thank you."

CHAPTER 4: FROM ROGUES TO RESCUERS

Everyone looks at Senzo, whose idea seemed more on the mad side than the heroic.

"You're... not kidding, are you?" asked Haru

"No, I'm not," was Senzo's reply, "We've been on the run for two years and I'm tired of being hunted like an animal!

"Sir!" Senzo called to Ganz, "Please listen to our story. We never killed Namazaka Tori, we weren't even there when he was killed. He was our Sensei, he trained us all- no, he was our father. We had nowhere else to go and he took care of us.

"One day when we came home to find him dead. The villagers saw us standing over his dead body and assumed that we killed him. You see, sir, it was all a misunderstanding.

"What I don't understand is why our bounty is so high when we were only accused of killing just one guy. Anyway, let us help you, Ganz!"

The four think about what Senzo had just said.

"Well," Yoshiro said, suddenly using a more cheerful tone, "I guess I'm in! How can I ever say no to you, Senz? (You'd kick my ass if I did...)"

"Then I'm in, too. We're in this together through the end," Haru said, smiling.

Suzuka sighed, "I'm outvoted again... Let's do it!"

Ganz looked at them.

"Kids... you would do that?"

"Of course!" Senzo replied, smiling proudly.

Lana and Glen then walk up to Ganz.

"Ganz... What're they saying? What's going to happen?" asked Lana.

"Daddy? What are you going to do?" asked, Glen looking up to his father's face.

Lana then looks at the table and sees the Liquor bottle

"You've been drinking again! There's something you're not telling me!" yelled Lana.

"Glen, go back to the bedroom and we'll call you later. This is something only grown-ups should hear," said Ganz to his son.

Glen nods and walks back into the bedroom.

"Lana... the Devil's Claw gang found our house. They offered me "protection" that was worth more than I make in a year. They told me, 'If you don't ensure your safety, then we'll ensure your danger; you, your wife and your kid,' they're threatening to kill us, Lana... We have to pay them by Sunday," Ganz said, wiping his eyes.

"That's why I need you not to be home on Sunday. Take Glen and hide in the Sanctuary. Me and these four kids will stay and fight them."

"Ganz... the Devil's Claw?" asked Lana, now about to cry.

"Yes. Before Sunday, I'll move all of our valuables to the Sanctuary, they'll be safe there. If I don't come for you there by Monday, take Glen and go to Alberta. Here's 4000z for the warp fee," Ganz gives her the money, "If I die, don't tell Glen about what happened until he's older."

"Oh, Ganz!" Lana exclaimed as she embraced her husband, crying on his shoulder.

Yoshiro sees Lana, who was in utter despair of what may happen to her husband. He puts his hand on Lana's shoulder.

"Don't worry, Lana," said Yoshiro, "If the Devil's Claws are going to kill Ganz, they'll have to step over my dead body!"

They comfort Lana and Ganz. Lana calls out Glen and embraces him.

"Oh, Glen... I hope you'll grow up to be brave like these good people," Lana, says to Glen, acknowledging the four, "Now, let's have breakfast!"

Lana served them a hearty breakfast of waffles and orange juice. They eat up and talk to Ganz as if he didn't try to kill them earlier.

Later that day, Yoshiro sees Ganz cutting wood in the forest.

"Hey, Ganz!" Yoshiro called, "Working hard? How can I help?"

"What do you mean, kiddo?" asked Ganz, who was quite surprised.

"We're staying for a week, remember? We're guests, not freeloaders. Suzuka's helping Lana in the kitchen, Senzo's killing rodents, Haru's sweeping the floor, and I'm the only one not helping out so let me help!" Yoshiro said enthusiastically, bouncing on his toes.

"Haha! You're a damn good kid, Yoshiro," Ganz said with a smile, "Just bring these logs to the shed behind the house."

Yoshiro sets off to work, hauling the logs to the shed.

Meanwhile, Senzo and Suzuka had finished their work and are relaxing on the grass in front of the house. Senzo was holding a bottle of water of which he drank half of its contents.

"About this morning...," said Suzuka, "...Why were you lying on the mattress with me?"

"What!" Senzo exclaimed, appalled by what Suzuka said, "Are you accusing me of crawling next to you last night?! Wait, wait, wait! Why were _you_ hugging _me_?"

"You're saying I made a move on you?!" Suzuka shouted, sitting up, "How can you be sure it was _me_ who hugged _you? _How can I be sure that _you_ didn't hug _me_?!"

"Because I felt you last night! " Senzo retorted, sitting up as well, "I just hugged you back!"

Suzuka turned pink, "You... did?"

Senzo didn't answer, he turned pink as well. They just stared at each other for what seemed like ages.

Leave it to Yoshiro to ruin the moment. He was walking towards the house, carrying the logs when he saw Senzo and Suzuka sitting there.

"Oho! What have we here? You two sure do things different! From what I know, second base comes _after _first base, not the other way around!" Yoshiro said, thinking that Senzo and Suzuka were about to kiss.

Senzo looks at Yoshiro but says nothing, he drinks what's left of his water bottle and empties the excess on the grass. He stands up, still holding the bottle and walks towards Yoshiro.

Yoshiro, seeing that he pissed Senzo off (again), dropped the logs he was carrying and ran for dear life.

Senzo started chasing Yoshiro, hitting him over the head with the water bottle and cursing at him.

"You... (WHACK!) Fucking... (WHACK!)... ASS! (WHACK!)"

Senzo eventually corners Yoshiro and beats him with the bottle. When he was satisfied, Senzo walked away. Yoshiro was badly bruised, but he was still laughing because of how easily Senzo snapped.

They continue their chores and live easy for the rest of the week; but at the same time, they knew what they had to do when the Devil's Claw comes; They have to be ready by then...

-end of chapter

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Lots of Yoshiro bashing soon to come!

Over and out,

amielrox


	5. Getting To Know Them

Let's not get too excited, I haven't written the next part yet (Besides, it happens one week later anyway!). So, in this chapter, you get to know all the characters and finally, know what they look like! (sorry about that, guys.)

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CHAPTER 5: GETTING TO KNOW THEM

**KUROYA YOSHIRO**

**Age:** 20

**Class:** Gunslinger

**Eyes:** Brown

**Hair:** Brown, short ponytail.

**Height: **5'10"

**Weight:** 180lb

**General Appearance:** calm, bored-looking face and wearing glasses that look like Eagle Eyes. His skin is naturally tan. Wears a trenchcoat similar to a gunslinger's outfit except that his outfit is white, has no fur trims and has a yellow stripe running down the outer side of each arm.

**Background:** Yoshiro was a sad and lonely child. He was always beaten up at school and made fun of for his glasses. Yoshiro never thought he would meet a girl name Angel, who became his first friend. He fell in love with Angel and spent most of his day playing with her.

One day, the bullies in school beat him up again. Angry, Yoshiro took his father's pistol and brought it to school the next day. Confronting the bullies, he calls to their leader, "You don't like my glasses? Fine!" and throws his glasses to the ground. He pulls out and fires at the bullies' leader. Because he couldn't see clearly, he missed and hit someone else. He puts his glasses back on to see who he shot and to his horror, he saw Angel, lying dead on the floor with blood on her chest. He ran away and met with Tori, who took Yoshiro under his wing and raised him. He still feels guilt every time he thinks of Angel, and as penance for his crime, he decided never to love another girl.

Over the years, he has developed a smartass attitude and an even more smartass mouth, getting him and his friends into more fights than necessary.

**Trivia:** Yoshiro was the first one to be taken by Tori. He is also the eldest member of his party, (though he never thought himself superior to his friends.)

* * *

**TAISEN SENZO**

**Age:** 16

**Class:** Wizard (Fire Based Build)

**Eyes:** Green

**Hair:** Red, spiked with a small ponytail (ala Van from _Zoids_, except Senzo has bangs.)

**Height:** 5'7"

**Weight:** 110lb

**General Appearance:** Wears a generic wizard cloak (it has no "eye" designs) and has a jolly but fiery expression.

Background: Raised by a rich family of fireworks makers, Senzo was practically baptized by fire. Senzo's parents were Fire Magi living in a town that shunned magic. The townspeople killed Senzo's parents and burned their home. Senzo was taken under Tori's care when he saw that he had nowhere left to go. He loves to joke around and get people pissed, (also, he gets pissed easily too.) but deep down, he's a sensitive soul.

**Trivia:** "Senzo" in Japanese means ancestor. Senzo was created by Leonhart Zero.

* * *

**MASAKI SUZUKA**

**Age:** 16

**Class:** Soul Linker

**Eyes:** Blue

**Hair:** Blue

**Height:** 5'4"

**Weight:** 98lb

**General Appearance:** Ponytailed hair. Wears a Soul Linker's uniform with one difference: She has prayer beads draped over her shoulders. She also wears crescent moon-shaped earrings.

**Background: **Suzuka saw her mother on the road home. Her mother talked to her as if saying goodbye. When Suzuka got home, all was explained. Her mother was murdered and what she saw on the road was her mother's ghost. Tori took her and the rest is history.

**Trivia:** Suzuka was the last child to be taken by Tori. She's the youngest, but definitely one of the most mature.

* * *

**OZAWA HARU**

**Age: **19

**Class:** Alchemist

**Eyes:** No pupils, born blind

**Hair:** Green, Shoulder-Length

**Height:** 5'9"

**Weight:** 177lb

**General Appearance: **Wears a blindfold and always sports a mysterious smile. Wears a standard alchemist robe, but doesn't use a pushcart.

**Background:** Haru was born to parents that abandoned him as a baby. He didn't meet any other kids when he was growing up, but he was never lonely. He had the ability to talk to plants, flowers, and trees. Haru wanted to go to school, but he could never learn to read. He was then taken by Tori because Tori saw potential in him. Haru grew up to be a genius, though he didn't have eyesight to read; Tori read the books to him and educated him.

**Trivia: **Haru can feel vibrations by feeling the ground, and has a strong sense of smell and sound; but he is quite dependent on his teammates when traveling. He eventually invents his own plant monsters.

* * *

Namazaka Tori was a lonely man who never had children. He met with Yoshiro, a little boy living on the streets who refused to come home because he wanted to do penance for his first love's death. Tori told Yoshiro, "If you want to make up for your faults, come with me and I'll help you," and so Yoshiro did. From that day, Tori became a father. Little did he know that he would have more children than he bargained for.

Then, passing through a town, he saw a mob burning down a mansion. A group of them were dragging the bodies of a dead couple to a nearby chapel. An hour later, Tori saw a little boy, digging through the rubble to find anything or anyone he could save, but only finding his parents' portrait. Tori told Senzo, the little boy, what had happened. Tori realized that this boy, like Yoshiro, had nowhere to go, so Tori took him as well. Senzo became Tori's second son

Tori then traveled to a village where he met an orphan named Haru who talked to plants. Haru said that he wanted to study, but he couldn't read. Haru still smiled and said that he didn't mind his current state; but he told Tori that it would have been nice to have a better life. Tori smiled at the boy and took care of him. Tori read Science books to Haru every night and Haru took in every word. Haru learned fast; Tori realized that his third son, Haru was a born prodigy.

Finally, walking along a road, heading home to his three new sons, Tori saw a little girl, who was talking to thin air. Tori realized that he was looking at a young soul linker, who was probably talking to a spirit she linked hers with. Tori followed the girl home and saw people gathering around what may have been me a crime scene. A woman had been killed in that house, and that woman was the girl's mother. He realized the girl was talking to her mother's ghost, because she was shouting, "But I talked to you on the road!" The girl ran blindly and bumped into Tori, who took pity on her and took her as well. And so Tori had a new child, Suzuka.

Tori trained all of his foster children in what he thought were their ideal courses: Yoshiro's sharpshooting, Senzo's fire magic, Suzuka's soul linking, and Haru's alchemy. They eventually grow up to be very skilled and very capable.

* * *

Years later, in Tori's cottage, a man came in pillaged the home. Only Tori was at home at the time; Suzuka, Haru, Senzo, and Yoshiro were outside catching fish for dinner. Tori saw the thief, who pounced on Tori and had a fistfight with him. The thief won, knocking Tori to the ground and choking him to death. The four come home to see their foster father dead on the floor of their small cottage. Of course, when you're in a quiet countryside and people hear a racket in one of the houses, people are bound to check it out. A group of people open the door and see Yoshiro, Senzo, Haru and Suzuka standing over Tori's corpse. They run to the village center and inform the captain of what happened. Since that day, the four were outlaws were on the run from authorities for a crime they never committed.

* * *

_Thank you, K.T. Winters and Precision reminding me!_


	6. Vigilantes

Chapter six, what happened that Sunday.

It was Sunday, 7:00 AM. Lana and Glen are already walking to Prontera. It was time...

Yoshiro, Senzo, Suzuka, Haru, and Ganz were sitting in the dining room, awaiting the Devil's Claw.

"You kids ready?" Ganz asked them, lighting his pipe.

"Yes, sir," Yoshiro said, "What's the plan?"

"The Devil's Claw saw only me the day they gave me the death threat," Ganz took a drag from the pipe and exhaled, "You're gonna pretend to be my family. Suzuka," he looks at Suzuka, "You're gonna pretend to be my wife, Sophie; Senzo will be my son, Patrick; Haru, you'll be my younger cousin, Charlie; and Yoshiro, you'll be my brother-in-law, Thomas."

They all nodded to each other. Ganz then told them the plan for attack.

CHAPTER 6: VIGILANTES

At 10:23 AM, The Devil's Claws arrived. There were six of them, outnumbering Ganz's group by one man. They were all wearing black tuxedos and masks over their eyes. All of them were armed with what looked like hooks, except they had sharp edges, like curved knives.

Their leader knocked on the door...

The door was opened and they were greeted by Ganz and Suzuka. Suzuka was wearing an apron over her frock and a bandana on her hair.

"Hello...," Ganz greeted them, trying to stay calm.

"Hello, indeed," said the leader, who was looking at Suzuka, "This is your wife?"

"Yes, this is Sophie."

"A bit young, isn't she? Very young... and very pretty...," the leader caressed Suzuka's cheek.

Suzuka tried to hold back her utter disgust.

"I'm here to offer you our protection once again, woodcutter, as you may have been told last week," said the leader to Ganz.

"Of course... of course...," Ganz was getting mad now, his fist was clenched, "Please, come in."

Ganz walked inside, followed by Suzuka, then by the six gangsters.

Senzo was sitting on the floor, carving a chunk of wood. He was dressed in one of Ganz's checkered shirts and was wearing bleached denims.

"Who're these guys, dad?" Senzo asked, pretending not to know.

The leader looked at Senzo, "This is your son? He looks just about as old as your wife..."

Senzo was getting nervous; they were pretty close to blowing their cover, "Umm... Dad... married Sophie... after Mom died!"

The gang was getting suspicious; this was getting more and more tense.

Ganz looked at Senzo, "Patrick, go around the back and fetch my money case..."

Senzo stood up, nodded, and went out through the back door. Suzuka glared at the gang leader, who was smiling after he heard Ganz say "money case."

"Let's... sit down," Ganz said, walking into the living room. He was followed by the gang.

In the living room was Haru, who was seen sitting in a chair. He was wearing a grey dress shirt and tapered pants. He was also surrounded by flower pots.

Ganz saw Haru and said to the gang, "This is my cousin, Charlie."

"Hmm...," the leader said, "Is he blind?"

"Yes, he is."

And then Yoshiro walked into the room. He was wearing a lumberjack's outfit just like Ganz, except he tied a denim jacket around his waist covering the front, to hide his guns.

"So! Is it Halloween yet? What's up with the costumes?" Yoshiro said to the gang, adjusting his glasses.

Yoshiro did it again.

Haru, noticing that a fight was about to ensue, pulled out five bottles of a brown-colored liquid and poured them into the flower pots.

"And what are THOSE? Are you gonna gut somebody? And you guys look RIDICULOUS! (He starts to imitate a nature show host) And now we are gazing upon a new species, a cross-breed of penguins and raccoons..."

The leader was already red with frustration. Who does this four-eyed jackass think he is?

Luckily, Senzo reentered the house, carrying a wooden box. The leader forgot all about Yoshiro's impudent dissing.

"Here, Dad," Senzo said to Ganz, handing him the box.

"Thanks, Pat...," Ganz reached into the box, ready to pull out what's inside.

The leader was getting anxious, ready to get his due.

"For your protection...," said Ganz to the leader, "Here's my first PAYMENT!" Ganz pulled his axe out of the box and swung at the leader, cutting off the leader's arm, "NOW, KIDS, NOW!"

The leader fell to the ground, grasping the stump where his arm used to be; blood stained the floor.

Yoshiro pulled out his pistols and shot the right arm of one of the gangsters, disarming him. Senzo ran to the corner for his staff and started beating the gangsters with it. He couldn't use his magic; it would set Ganz's wooden house on fire.

Suzuka then shouted, "Esma!" pointing her hand at one of the gangsters. Her hand glowed red, but it didn't work and the spell backfired, causing her to pass out; she forgot that Esma only worked on monsters.

Suzuka fell to the floor, out cold, but the fight continued. Two of the gangsters were terrified as Haru threw the pots at them, which now contained man-eating Geographers. The pots landed on the ground and the Geographers start snapping at the gangsters' legs.

Haru turned his head to the gangsters, "Haha! I think they like you! Your flesh, I mean."

The gangsters back away, but Senzo was behind them. Senzo hits them both over the head and knocks them out.

Yoshiro then shot the knees of the two remaining gangsters. The gangsters fell the the ground, grasping their knees. Senzo then walked over to the leader, who was still on the floor, and grabbed him by the collar.

"Do you recognize my face?" he asked the leader, "That's right, I'm Taisen Senzo. That's right, the murderer. You're not gonna bother this guy again, you understand me? You're lucky we didn't kill your sorry ass. If you hurt Ganz or his family... let's just say me and my crew will be wanted for another murder..."

The leader nodded nervously.

Yoshiro walked up to the phone and dialed a number.

"Hello? Prontera Knights' Chivalry?" Yoshiro said, using a deep voice, which was still surprisingly believable, "I'd like to report an extortion attempt, and attempted murder of local lumberjack Ganz. Please come to the cottage in Prontera forest, it's a wooden cottage that's pretty close to the city. The attackers are here; all of them are down and can't move. I think they're called the Demon's Claws or something? Anyway, send an ambulance over here, too. "

Yoshiro put down the phone and gave Ganz the thumbs up.

"Oops! Senzo's girlfriend is out cold too!" said Yoshiro, who saw Suzuka on the floor. He woke her up and helped her up.

They got dressed and packed their things quickly before the authorities arrive. They were standing outside the house now. Ganz was proudly looking at them.

"I can't thank you kids enough... I'm sorry I tried to kill you last week...," Ganz said.

"It's cool, you were only protecting your family," said Yoshiro.

"We won't forget you, Mr. Ganz," said Suzuka, who was still a little dizzy.

"Nor will I forget you...," Ganz said, smiling at them.

"Well, Ganz, remember to come back for you wife and son later; they're waiting up for you," Senzo reminded him.

Suddenly, they heard the thumping of Peco Peco feet from a distance.

"Whoa! Time to go!" said Yoshiro, realizing that the knights will try to arrest them, too, "Goodbye, Ganz!"

They ran off. Where they're going, nobody knew. All Ganz could do now was watch them run off into the sunset.

-end of chapter...

Rate and Review, pls!


	7. You Four Look Familiar

Magic number 7! Longest chapter I've written so far...

--

Two knights were conversing by a tree in Prontera forest, each of them were standing next to their Peco Pecos, holding the reins to keep them from running away.

"Have you heard? The bounty on the four killers just doubled last week! They're now worth a million each!" one knight said.

"Really, what for?" asked the other, "They only killed one guy; and he wasn't even important..."

"I'm not sure if it's true, but rumor has it, there's another group of killers who've killed over twenty people. The government must have suspected them to be connected to the four, somehow..."

"Hmmm... it's not impossible..."

CHAPTER 7: YOU FOUR LOOK FAMILIAR

Suddenly, four young ones ran right in front of the knights and out of sight.

The knights just stared.

"Weren't those..."

One knight pulled out a wanted poster he kept in his bag. He observed the faces on the poster and compared the pictures to the ones who just passed them.

"Hmm... Mm-hmm... Hmm...

"Hmm? Hmm... They kinda look the same..."

(BONG!) he got hit by the other knight in the back of the head. It really hurt his cos knights wore metal gloves.

"You idiot! It _is _them! Let's go after them!"

The mounted their Pecos and chase the four criminals. The knights were too late; Yoshiro, Senzo, Suzuka and Haru were already too far ahead; but that didn't stop the knights who just can't let four million pass.

The knights came up to a crossroad.

"Umm..." one knight was trying to decide which way to go, "This way!" They turn right.

Unfortunately for the knights, the four of them went straight ahead.

"Hahaha!" Yoshiro laughed as he and his friends ran.

"Where... (Pant) are we heading? (Pant)" Haru asked.

"Just keep running! (Pant, pant)" Yoshiro answered.

They kept running, but Yoshiro tripped over a Poring and his glasses fell off his face.

"Poring!" the Poring called, after seeing the fallen spectacles on the grass.

The Poring bounced towards Yoshiro's glasses and gleefully going "Poring! Poring!"

"No!" said Yoshiro as he watched the Poring which was about to swallow his specs.

(Gulp!)

The Poring swallowed Yoshiro's glasses.

"Oh you little...! (BANG!)" Yoshiro shot the Poring. The Poring popped and dropped his glasses.

Yoshiro kneeled down and picks up his glasses when he heard a little girl's voice call, "Pinky? Pinky, where are you?"

Yoshiro froze in shock. He had just killed someone's pet! What was he going to do? Would he be reported? Would the girl tell her parents? Would the bounty on his head grow larger?

Thinking fast, he saws another poring and picked it up (They all looked the same anyway). As soon as he saw the girl walk up to him, he ran over to her and handed her the replacement Poring.

"Here's Pinky, bye!" He said

He quickly and ran off with his friends.

"Smooth move, Spex." said Senzo as he ran.

"Oh, shut up and run, you mattress invader!" retorted Yoshiro.

"You know, I have a water bottle in my backpack," Senzo threateningly reminded him; bottles were Senzo's new weapon against Yoshiro.

They kept running until they saw a white bridge. They cross the bridge and end up in a small town with small buildings; it was surrounded by water.

"Izlude!" said Suzuka, who was very fascinated by the sights.

"Lots of swordsmen in here... and lots of dealers... and lots of blacksmiths... _lady_ blacksmiths..." Senzo observed. He started ogling the very revealingly dressed lady blacksmiths.

"Whoa, you're not kidding!" said Yoshiro, who ogled the blacksmiths as well.

Suzuka growled at Senzo and Yoshiro for being such pervs.

"I wish _I_ could see them..." Haru said mournfully.

They walk over to the blacksmiths to stock up on potions, hoping that they haven't seen the wanted posters.

Senzo tried to charm one of them...

"Excuse me, miss, but do you sell any potions for the eyes?" asked Senzo.

"I have green potions. They cure blindness..." replied the blacksmith.

"No, not for blindness... Something else is wrong with my eyes... I can't take them off you."

The blacksmith blushed, but Suzuka was pissed.

Suzuka hits Senzo on the back off the head and shouts, "YOU NO-GOOD WOMAN-OBSESSED JERK!"

"Ooh... Somebody's jealous..." Yoshiro said with a grin.

Senzo rubs the back of his head and says to the blacksmith, "One red, please." He seemingly ignores Yoshiro.

"Anything for you, you charmer," said the blacksmith. She handed him a bottle of red potion.

Senzo drained the potion but still held on to its bottle. He looked at Yoshiro with fiery eyes and walked towards him.

Yoshiro, realizing he was in danger, started to back away from Senzo.

"Now, Senz... You're not serious about that, right? It was just a joke, right...? (nervous laughter)" Yoshiro was pretty scared now.

Senzo hits Yoshiro on the forehead, flooring him. He starts beating Yoshiro with a bottle again.

"SENZ! (BASH!) STOP! (BASH!) PLEASE! (BASH) THAT'S MADE OF GLASS! (BASH!) GLASS! (BASH! BASH! BASH!)"

Yoshiro was groaning on the ground, with huge lumps forming on his head and a bloody face. It was a miracle he was still alive.

Yoshiro sat up and said to the blacksmith, "Five... Whites..."

The blacksmith handed him the white potions, looking pretty freaked out after seeing the mess that was once Yoshiro's face.

Yoshiro drank all of the bottles in huge gulps and returned to normal. He started chuckling at Senzo, who was still pissed at him.

Yoshiro stands up and says "Thank you, ma'am" to the blacksmith and walks off with the other three.

They looked to their left and saw something that made them have to catch their breath.

"An airship!" Yoshiro, Senzo and Suzuka chorused. Haru was surprised when he heard them say it.

Suddenly, they heard the voice of the blacksmith from earlier shout, "Hey! Those guys didn't pay me!"

In panic, they ran to the airship but are stopped by a man in front of the ramp.

"900z per head" said the ticket man.

They dug through their pockets and came up with all the zeny coins they could and handed them to the ticket man.

"Here you go, enjoy your-"

Before the ticket man finished talking, the four already grabbed their tickets and ran into the airship.

The airship was full of people. Some looked pretty shady, especially this group of three ninjas hanging out in a corner.

"Ready for takeoff!" announced the captain.

The ramp started to rise up. Suddenly...

"Hey! You punks paid in chocolate coins!" shouted the ticket man, but too late; the ramp already rose up and closed.

They four give a sigh of relief and took their seats, facing the ninjas. The female ninja in the middle, who was most likely their leader, looked at them.

"You four look familiar..." she said.

--

-end of chapter

(Poor Yoshiro...)


	8. Fight in MidFlight

_These guys don't ever get a rest, eh? Here's what happens next!_

"You four look familiar." said their leader.

The leader was a young girl, who looked about a year younger than Suzuka. She wore a ninja's outfit, except it was black instead of blue. Her black hair was shoulder length and sporting the "fly-away" hairstyle. She had black, serious, dreadfully intimidating eyes that stared at Yoshiro and company.

Her teammates were pretty scary too. The shinobi on her right looked very similar to her, except his hair was blond. He also sported that intimidating, wit-killing stare.

The shinobi on her left was scary, despite his goofy-looking face. He was scary because he was smiling menacingly at the four. He had blood red hair and a twisted smile, with eyes that always seemed to be wide open.

"We… we do?" Yoshiro asked nervously, placing his hands on his lap, ready to draw his pistols if needed.

"Yes, you do" she replied.

CHAPTER 8: FIGHT IN MID-FLIGHT

The airship took off and ascended high into the clouds.

"I… I don't think we ever met…"

"No, we haven't…"

"Okay, that's it!" Senzo said, butting into the conversation, "You want to get us so bad? You want our bounty? Come and get it!" He pulled out his staff.

Unfortunately, Senzo spoke too soon. Everyone looked at them with curious faces.

They could hear the people whispering

"(what bounty?)"

"(do you think it's them?)"

"(there's four million zeny riding this airship?)"

The people stop whispering and draw their weapons

"You idiot!" The female ninja said.

The three ninja stand up and draw their kunai as well.

"Oh, well…" said Yoshiro, who drew his pistols.

"Dammit, I feel useless again…" groaned Suzuka, who can't use any of her "Es" type spells.

"I think we would have been safer back in Izlude…" said Haru, drawing his axe.

Haru had a point. In Izlude, there were lots of corners and alleys to hide in and run to, but up in this airship, they were trapped in a small space with lots of people, hungry for their bounty.

The passengers then looked at the three ninja.

"Hey! These three are worth twenty million! I saw their poster!" called one of them.

They ready for battle: The Outlaws and the Ninjas, all of them weapons drawn.

A knight brandished his sword at Haru, who heard the swing and dodged the attack.

Haru then countered and swung his axe at the knight's shoulder, cutting through the armor and drawing blood. The knight fell to the ground, bleeding.

It was the red haired Ninja's turn. A Wizard was about to cast a spell on his teammates. He kneeled down and started performing hand seals.

When he was done, he placed his hand to the ground and shouted "Freezing Spear!"

Icebergs shot up from where the wizard stood, impaling him. The wizard's spell was cancelled.

"Fuck…" Senzo cursed, looking at the impaled Wizard, "Fuck, you killed him!"

The Ninja smiled at Senzo and said, "He had it coming…"

The blond ninja then spotted a group heading towards him; they were probably the wizard's friends.

He started performing hand seals too. Somehow, Suzuka sensed that this ninja was going to do something lethal as well.

Meanwhile, Yoshiro was facing an Assassin 30 meters away from him. They were staring each other down. The assassin was readying his katars, while Yoshiro had his guns drawn.

The assassin charged at him, ready to kill. Yoshiro, however, just stood there.

"_He's moving fast, but not too fast..."_

He still did nothing; the assassin was now 20 meters away.

It didn't seem so, Yoshiro was actually in control of the fight.

"_He's running towards me; he has armor on his shoulders and chest, but his belly is exposed; I can't shoot him there, he'll die. I can try to shoot both his arms, but he's running too fast; his arms are swinging too rapidly._

The assassin was now 10 meters

"_Okay, he 's got leg armors too, I can't kneecap him. But wait, his groin is unprotected… Ouch… I'm sure he'd rather die than lose his "money pouch." Wait! There's an open spot in his leg armor! There! His foot!"_

The assassin was now right in front of Yoshiro's face; his katar was ready to be thrust into Yoshiro's eye when…

"_His foot is planted on the ground... it's not moving..."_

(BANG!)

The assassin fell to the ground, grasping his foot.

"Sorry, man." he said to the downed assassin.

A Rogue saw Yoshiro with his back turned. He drew his Damascus and ran towards Yoshiro, getting read to stab him in the back.

Yoshiro turned around and shot the blade out of the charging Rogue's hand. "You shouldn't play with knives." he said.

Meanwhile, back at the other side of the room, the blond ninja finished his spell. He spread his arms wide and shouted, "Exploding Dragon!"

A burst of flame shaped like a Chinese dragon shot out of his chest and flew to the group of passengers, burning them with such intense heat that they were turned to ashes in seconds.

Suzuka couldn't help but whimper as she saw the ninja kill those people.

Suddenly, a blacksmith jumped at Suzuka and swung his axe at her.

Senzo was quick. He cast Fire Wall in between Suzuka and the Blacksmith, stopping the blacksmith dead in his tracks. Senzo then ran behind the blacksmith and knocked him out with his staff.

The battle was getting intense. Haru was dueling a crusader and was very clearly disadvantaged. He dodged the crusader's sword and backed away. Eventually, the fight led the people to the airship's wing. People were wrestling each other on the wing, pushing, shoving, and hitting. Some people actually fell off the airship.

Suzuka, tired of being useless, came out of the corner she was hiding in and started to use her fists and feet to fight the attackers. She was a surprisingly strong kicker; she was even able to knock down a knight. This was probably because of her background in Tae Kwon Do.

Haru was cornered; he was lying down on the very edge of the airship's wing with his attacker pointing a sword at him.

"Ho! Ho! I can't believe a wimp like you is worth a million zeny! You probably would have stood a chance if you could see me, HAHAHA!!" the crusader laughed, taunting Haru.

"Go to hell!" Haru shouted.

As the crusader was about to deliver the death blow, Haru heard the kunoichi's voice shout from behind the crusader, "Vital Stike!"

The crusader froze, his body was going limp. He fell down and slipped off the wing like a ragdoll. Haru realized that the female ninja from earlier saved his life. The ninja walked up to Haru.

"You're… such a wuss…" she said. She was getting woozy, in fact, about to lose consciousness. Did she die as well?

As she fell over, Haru got up and caught her. She needed medical attention and she needed it fast. Haru felt blood trickling down from the corner of her mouth. He felt her wrist… her pulse was so slow… Haru opened his pouch and took out any ingredients he could to make some potions.

The fight continued. As Haru was pounding herbs, he could hear the sounds of battle. He heard the clangs of swords, he heard the twangs of bows firing their arrows, he heard the bangs of Yoshiro's guns, and he heard the explosions of the many spells cast.

His white potion was finished. He parted the kunoichi's lips… they were beautiful lips, as Haru could feel, soft as rose petals… Wait… _Concentrate! _He told himself. He parted her lips and tipped in the potion. She didn't wake up, but Haru put his ear to her chest and heard that her heartbeat had gone back to normal.

Then Haru heard footsteps from the crowd. They were moving closer and closer to the wing's edge.

"Haru!" said Yoshiro's voice, "We're cornered! We gotta jump!"

"Spex, you've fucking lost it!" Haru heard Senzo's voice.

"Yup!"

Haru heard Senzo and Suzuka scream as Yoshiro pushed them off the edge of the wing.

"We'll take it from here!" Haru heard the red haired ninja say. He then felt the kunoichi being lifted from his arms. He heard the ninjas jump as well.

"Haru! we're the last ones here!" said Yoshiro.

Haru then felt Yoshiro's palm hitting him on the forehead. He fell backwards from the wing to the ground below.

The people were closing in on Yoshiro.

"_Haru, you sly dog... you finally found a girl for you, haha!" _Yoshiro thought.

He then looked at the passengers and gave them the finger, mockingly smiling at them. He then jumped backwards to the ground, in a less-than-graceful swan dive.

_"I just hope I don't break my neck..." _thought Yoshiro as he fell.

_-end of chapter_

Yoshiro's so cool…


	9. Welcome to Comodo!

_The ninth chapter of this thrilling fanfic...! _

_Kuroya Yoshiro..._

_Taisen Senzo..._

_Masaki Suzuka..._

_Ozawa Haru..._

_...The Four Outlaws_

_Coming this April 3, 2008!_

* * *

Okay, enough of the movie trailer stuff, let's get Chapter Nine started!

* * *

Yoshiro fell into the sea. Which sea? He didn't know. He quickly swam to the surface of the water gasping for breath and wiping water off his face. As he was wiping his face, he realized... "...my Eagle Eyes!" He desperately swiped his arms underwater, hoping to find his glasses, but got nothing. Suddenly he heard a rumbling noise behind him. He turned to see what it was and after seeing it, cursed, "Goddammit..."

_CRASH!_

A wave crashed over him and made him black out.

Hours later, Yoshiro was awakened by the sounds of exploding fireworks. He realized he was washed ashore. He lazily opened his eyes but wished he didn't; bright lights were flashing over his head. "Am I dead?" he asked himself aloud. Ignoring the bright lights, he forced his eyes open and saw a blurry silhouette of someone...

CHAPTER 9: WELCOME TO COMODO!

"...Angel?" Yoshiro asked stupidly.

"Sorry, Yoshiro." said Haru's voice, "Put these on."

Haru hands Yoshiro his glasses. Yoshiro takes them, sits up and puts them on.

"Where are we, man?" he asked Haru.

"Judging from the sounds of fireworks, rolling dice, spinning roulette wheels, and shuffling cards, we can only be in Comodo." said Haru.

Haru was right, as Yoshiro saw the casinos and fireworks displays. People were gambling, drinking, partying and having a good time. Yoshiro couldn't help but stare at the Kafra sporting a miniskirt at the entrance of one of the casinos.

"We better go, Yoshiro. We have to find Senzo ad Suzuka." said Haru.

"Yeah, those two can't be left alone. Who knows what they'd do with each other?" said Yoshiro, looking over his shoulders to make sure Senzo wasn't behind him with a bottle in hand, "Lezzgo, Haru!"

Haru offered Yoshiro his hand and helped him up. As they started walking, Yoshiro was suddenly scratching his backside.

"I can hear you scratching something..." said Haru.

"Dammit, I got sand in my crack!" said Yoshiro irritably.

They continue walking and find the female ninja from earlier slumped in a corner outside a casino, breathing heavily.

"Hey, Haru, your girlfriend's here." said Yoshiro, noticing the kunoichi.

"You know, Yoshiro I have a lot of empty potion bottles in my bag..." Haru told him threateningly.

"Okay, I'll shut up now, hehe..." Yoshiro loved annoying his friends.

They walk up to her and squat down so that their eyes were parallel to the kunoichi's. Yoshiro waves his hand in front of the kunoichi's eyes, checking if she's fully conscious.

"Yikes! It's alive!" Yoshiro said jokingly as the kunoichi suddenly grabbed his wrist. She was quite strong; her grip was actually hurting him. Haru couldn't see her, but he could feel her presence when she leaned towards him. He could sense that their faces were just inches away from each other.

"Hey there, wuss..." said the kunoichi, "You okay?"

"Me?!" Haru yelled, "You're the one who passed out!"

"That was supposed to happen. Vital Strike pushes the body a millimeter short of its breaking point." she then put a hand on Haru's shoulder, "Thanks, wuss."

Yoshiro was tempted to say something, but was stopped by his fear of bottles. Instead he just smiled at the sight, snickering. He then wondered what she was doing in Haru's arms, so he couldn't resist asking her, "What happened between you two, anyway?"

The kunoichi ignored Yoshiro's question and kept talking to Haru.

"You owe me one now, wuss." she said.

"You owe me as well. Oh, and I have a name, missy: Haru." said Haru defiantly.

"Hey!" yelled Yoshiro, suddenly butting in, "I asked you a question, goth girl! 'Missy Haru', shut up for a while." he then said to Haru.

Again, the gunner was ignored.

"I have a name too, wuss: Kizuna." she said with just as much defiance.

"What the hell were you doing helping us, anyway, 'Kizuna'??" yelled Yoshiro, once again trying to catch her attention. He was holding something under his coat.

"I have my reasons." said Kizuna, finally acknowledging Yoshiro, "When I kill, I kill in slience. There were too many witnesses up in the airship." She then drew her kunai and pointed it at Yoshiro's throat. At the same time, she grabbed Haru by the neck and started strangling him.

"The client made us a deal..." she said, "If we killed you in a secluded spot and sent your bodies to him, he promised to give us half your bounty..."

"Why not just kill us, forget the contract and claim the bounty in full?" asked Yoshiro angrily, staring at the sharp tip of the kunai. Haru was gasping for air as Kizuna choked him.

"I might as well turn myself in, huh?" Kizuna said, "You're not the only one with a bounty on your head."

Yoshiro remembered one passenger mention a twenty million bounty back in the airship. Yoshiro looked Kizuna in the eyes and said, "You and your friends deserve your bounty, you murderers! I saw your friend impale that wizard! I can't believe you guys actually kill for money!"

"Oh, and just because you killed one man, you're less deserving?"

"We never killed him, bitch!" he spat at Kizuna. This is one of the times when Yoshiro becomes serious... and angry. His hand was shaking under his coat.

"Say what you want, guy. They'll be your last words." Kizuna said. She was ready to cut Yoshiro's throat and crush Haru's windpipe when...

_BANG!_

Yoshiro shot Kizuna in the belly with the gun he was holding under his coat. He had no choice. It was kill or be killed. Kizuna didn't move, she simply froze on spot. The bullet hole in her belly didn't bleed, though the bullet went all the way through her body. Suddenly, Haru felt her grip slacken. In fact, it didn't actually slacken, but retracted. The bones in her fingers and palm seemed to disappear. She dropped the kunai she was holding and drooped to the ground literally like an empty beanbag; she seemed to become a floppy bag of skin.

Haru, catching his breath, touched what was left of Kizuna. "Cicada Skin Shed. It's a ninja technique that instantly teleports the user away and replaces him with an imitation..." he said, as he observed the leavings.

Yoshiro stood up and helped Haru stand. He looked at Haru and said, "Let's keep looking, Haru."

Just as he said this, he heard someone shout, "HUGE WIN!"

Haru then looked at the casino the voice came from and asked, "Wasn't that..."

He and Yoshiro ran into the casino and saw, gambling on the roulette table, "Sen-zzmmf!"

As they were about to shout, a hand covered each of their mouths. Suzuka was behind them. "Don't say his name in here, you dummies! That idiot is known as 'Tenzo' here. He used a fake name so that nobody would recognize him. I just wish he could be more creative with the name, though..." she said, sighing.

They saw 'Tenzo' there at the roulette table, with towers of chips in front of him and a big smile on his face.

"He's really on a roll...Wow, he can buy you an engagement ring now, 'Zuka." Yoshiro said jokingly to Suzuka, prying her hand off his mouth.

"Haru, give me a bottle..." Suzuka said.

"Okay, I'll shut up now, hehe..."

Half an hour later...

"We're rich!" Senzo shouted happily, running towards Yoshiro, Haru, and Suzuka holding a huge money pouch, "Gambling is great!"

Yoshiro scowled at Senzo. "Hey, 'Tenzo', wanna gamble some more?"

"Of course!" Senzo said, nodding at him.

He pulled out a zeny coin from his pocket. "Heads, I get half your money; tails, you get all the money I have!"

"Alright."

Yoshiro flipped the coin, but before it even landed in his palm, he caught it in mid-air and chucked it at Senzo's forehead.

"Son of a bitch!" Senzo cursed, rubbing his forehead, "What the hell was that for, Spex?!"

"You were gambling what little money you had?! What if you lost?!" asked Yoshiro angrily.

Suzuka intervened, going in between the two. "Okay! Break it up, guys!" she said, "Look, we're all obviously tired. Let's just look for a hotel and check in."

The three nodded. They walked to the nearest hotel they could find. It was probably a 25 floor hotel. They walk in and walk up to the reception.

"Two rooms, please; one for us three and one for the lady. Our friend here can't keep it in his pants, see." said Yoshiro, ruffling Senzo's hair. Senzo retorted by elbowing Yoshiro in the gut.

"Names, please?" asked the receptionist.

Holding his belly, Yoshiro came up with an alias for each of them, "We're Yuroya Koshiro, Saisen Tenzo, Hozawa Aru and Sasaki Muzuka." He then took their keys and quickly ran to their rooms. The other three then followed.

Later, in the room of the guys...

"I can't believe that worked, Spex." said Senzo.

"Neither can I, Senz. Neither can I." said Yoshiro smiling.

Suddenly, Suzuka burst through the door. "Come quick! Something's happened!" she said worriedly.

-_To Be Continued..._

* * *

-end of chapter

Keep the reviews comin'!


	10. Sending A Message

_Now what happens? Yoshiro and Haru have just escaped from an assassin's blade and already more commotion occurs!_

* * *

The three guys did as Suzuka said and ran out the door. They ran to the hotel lobby, led by Suzuka to find out what's going on. They arrive at the scene and find a large group of people surrounding something. There were staff members and visitors in the crowd, some of them were gasping and mumbling to each other, others simply stood dead silent. Suddenly, a middle-aged man appeared behind the Senzo, pushing past him and his friends.

"What in the world has happened here?" asked the man.

"Boss... you should come and see this." said a bellboy. She looked very scared and at the same time, about to vomit.

The man was most likely the hotel owner, or at least the manager. He slowly and wordlessly entered the crowd.

"What's going on, 'Zuka?" asked Yoshiro.

"Someone's been killed." Suzuka replied.

Hearing this, Yoshiro had a bad hunch.

CHAPTER 10: SENDING A MESSAGE

Senzo suddenly forced himself into the crowd to see what they were flocking over and saw the dead body of the receptionist from earlier. The receptionist had a deep wound in her heart and it looked like it came from a knife, specifically...

"..._a kunai_" Senzo thought as he stared into the kite-shaped wound, which was surrounded by the blood-soaked, once white, blouse the receptionist was wearing.

Yoshiro heard the thumping sound of something landing on the hotel's carpeted floor. Yoshiro looked to where the sound came from and saw a stone with a note taped to it. He picked it up and opened the note.

His hunch was right. He read the note's contents, which were written very neatly. So neat, in fact, it was threatening. It read:

_**You saw what we did to that woman...**_

_**and now the four of you are next...**_

_**-Kizuna**_

"'Senzo, get back here!" Yoshiro called to Senzo as he read the note. He then looked at Haru and Suzuka and said, "You two, come look at this... there's a note here." Senzo walked over to Yoshiro. Suzuka came over as well. Haru, however, just stood on the spot.

"Dammit..." Senzo said as he read the note.

"Who's Kizuna?" asked Suzuka

"She's the kunoichi we met in the airship, Suzuka." said Haru all of a sudden, "Why? What does the note say?"

"Your girlfriend's gonna be back for us, Haru." said Yoshiro, "We'll have to watch our backs more than ever now..."

"Wait, how do you know her name? There's something you're not telling us, Haru." said Senzo.

"While we were looking for you we ran into her. After the touching introduction, she tried to choke Haru and cut my throat. Luckily, we got away." said Yoshiro, "What did you see, Senz?" he then asked Senzo.

"The receptionist's dead" Senzo replied.

"That explains the note..." said Yoshiro, nodding his head, "We have to get outta Comodo."

Haru and Suzuka nodded to Yoshiro's idea, but Senzo had another plan. Holding his hand up to silence Yoshiro, he said, "Better idea, Spex. We track her down and turn her in."

"No, not a better idea, Senz. It's dumb to mess with her; her bounty with her friends is worth 20 million, man!" said Yoshiro.

"Think about it, Spex! We can convince this hotel that we're good guys!" said Senzo, smiling.

"Think about THIS, Senz. They don't even suspect us to be bad guys, which we're not. The vigilante gig worked last time, but this time is a huge gamble."

"Then we gamble, Spex."

"You're saying we should track down the people who are trying to kill us, catch them, turn them in, reveal our identities, and run?"

"Yes."

"Fine! Let's do it then!" Yoshiro said with a smile.

"Yoshiro!" Suzuka said, looking appaled at Yoshiro's sudden change of heart, "I can't believe you're saying yes to this! Hell, I can't believe you're the eldest among us!"

"I'm sorry, 'Zuka, but when you're as fickle and indecisive as me, your sense of reason is heavily distorted." Yoshiro said, chuckling.

"You know what? Fine! You two always outrule me, anyway! Besides, who else will take care of you?" Suzuka said, half-angry, half-amused.

"Bring it on." Haru said simply.

So, it was decided, the Four Outlaws would track down the three ninja assassins and bring them to justice. Now, how to convince the crowd...?

Senzo jumped onto the reception desk and put his hand in his pocket.

"Attention, please!" Senzo said, "I am detective Saisen Tenzo!" As he said this, he pulled out his wallet and flipped it open for a split second, then immediately closed it again, hoping the guests and staff wouldn't realize he had no badge, "Me and my crew going to investigate this crime and bring the killer to justice!"

Though it wasn't a convincing speech, Senzo's delivery made quite a number from the crowd believe him, including the manager, who was wiping tears from his face and mumbling about the hotel's reputation being ruined.

Senzo hopped off the desk, winked at his friends, and said, "Let's go!"

* * *

-_end of chapter_

_How does Senzo do it??_


	11. Hunting the Hunters

_Sorry if the borderlines I've been using were messed up... Anyway, chapter 11 is up and running._

* * *

They were on their way out of the hotel when the manager suddenly called out to them, "What are you doing, detective? Aren't you going to ask questions? Look for witnesses? Search for clues?" The staff and visitors turn their heads to Senzo, some of them eyeing him suspiciously.

"Umm..." Senzo started nervously, "The wound on the victim resembles a ninja's blade... The most likely action of a ninja would be to leave the scene of the crime as soon as the hit was made... Don't you all agree?"

Only a few nodded, the rest looked perplexed, including the manager. Realizing that it would be better to leave before anyone asked anything else, Senzo ran out the door, followed by Yoshiro, Haru, and Suzuka.

CHAPTER 11: HUNTING THE HUNTERS

They ran to a corner and stopped to catch their breath. Thinking deeply, Senzo was reflecting on what he had just done.

"Guys, I think we should call this thing off..." said Senzo, "I mean, we don't have any leads and stuff..."

Suddenly, Senzo felt someone punch him in the back of his head.

"Good! _Now_ you come to your senses, huh?" yelled Suzuka, whose fist was still planted on the back of Senzo's head.

"Wait, Zuka..." said Yoshiro, "We _do_ have leads... Haru, let's check that corner where we met Kizuna again."

Haru nodded and said, "Lead the way, Yoshiro."

They walked to the corner and looked for the cicada skin Kizuna shed earlier.

"Dammit..." Yoshiro said. They couldn't find anything but a pile of dust.

Haru knelt down and felt the dust, "Hmm... It dried up and crumbled..."

"Damn!"

In frustration, Yoshiro kicked the pile and scattered the dust.

"Yoshiro, don't!" Haru shouted. He gathered the remaining dust in a small pile, "We can still use this dust to track them."

Haru pulled out a bottle filled with sap-colored liquid and poured it on the sand. After a few seconds, a plant grew out of the pile. It had a straight, red, vertical stem and two long thorns sticking out of its opposite sides. One thorn was yellow, one thorn was green. On top of the stem, there was a small hole surrounded by petals, making the plant look like a flower with a hollow center, the only difference being the thorns are longer than the petals are wide. It was about the size of a cherry.

"I'm guessing you're wondering..." Haru said, "...what this is? It's a new plant monster I bred. Its yellow thorn points to the highest concentration of any substance..." He took a pinch of dust and sprinkled it into the hole in the plant, "...it's fed. It recognizes DNA, so it can be used as a human tracker. I call it the Scout Flower."

Like Haru said, the Scout Flower's yellow thorn pointed to the west, just along the beach.

"Where's it pointing?" asked Haru, standing up.

"Along the beach." said Suzuka.

"Good, then they're still in Comodo."

They set off to walk along the beach. Haru scooped up the Scout Flower and placed it in what looked like a glass sphere, so that he could carry it with him. They walk, following the thorn, until the crowds disappeared and there were only the four of them left. The cold night winds were ominously strong as they walked, causing their coats and robes to flutter all the way to the left and make loud flapping sounds.

"Hold this, Suzuka." said Haru, handing Suzuka the Scout Flower, "Follow it wherever it points."

"So this thing works like a compass..." said Suzuka, eyeing the strange plant. Suddenly, the, Scout Flower's thorn twisted to the opposite side, then back front, then eventually started spinning wildly.

"Guys..." Suzuka said nervously as the thorn spun faster and faster, "It's spinning... The thorn is spinning..."

Haru, Yoshiro and Senzo gathered round Suzuka. "That means..." Haru started. The winds blew even harder and grew even colder. "...that they're either below us or..."

They looked up and saw the silhouettes of the three ninja, dropping down towards them. They could see the ninjas' drawn kunai gleam in the moonlight. The ninja could smell their fear; they were ready to draw blood. Instinctively, the four below them got ready to dive out of the way.

_SLASH_

Blood spilled on the sand.

The three ninja were landed with their kunai plunged into the ground. The edge of the red haired shinobi's kunai was stained with blood. He pulled it out and smiled at it, as if he was a child smiling at a drawing he just made.

Haru, Senzo, Yoshiro and Suzuka were all surrounding the three ninja, having barely dodged their attack.

"Ow..." groaned Yoshiro, suddenly realizing the gash on the far right side of his neck. He placed his hand upon it and giggled, "Hehe, you missed me by that much, smiley." The wound was just a centimeter short of Yoshiro's carotid artery.

"You almost scored us a million, Ramaru." said the blonde Shinobi to the red haired one.

"Don't worry, Irigi," replied Ramaru, smiling, "We'll get them this time."

"Shut up, you two. It's time to kill." said Kizuna.

Suddenly, the three of them vanished from sight.

"This is bad..." said Suzuka, pocketing the Scout Flower. She readied herself for battle, once again, using the weapon of the Taekwon, fists and feet.

Yoshiro drew his pistols, almost completely forgetting that he had been wounded.

Senzo readied his staff, silently cursing at the ninja, "(Yeah, hide, you little bitches. You like killing? I'll show you something worse than death...)"

Haru wordlessly drew his axe...

They stood there in their ready positions with almost nothing happening...

_SLASH!_

Ramaru appeared behind Suzuka and made a light cut on her back. As Suzuka turned around to kick him, he was gone. Suzuka winced after feeling the searing pain on her back.

_SMACK!_

Kizuna appeared in front of Senzo, slapped him hard in he face, and disappeared again.

"Bitch!" Senzo shouted, rubbing his cheek, "Those assholes are toying with us!"

_POW!_

Irigi appeared behind Yoshiro and kneed him in the back, flooring him. Yoshiro groaned on the ground. Haru could hear Yoshiro mumbling, "Oww... my pride... he hurt my pride..." as he got back to his feet.

Haru stood relaxed, but focused. Suddenly...

_SWIPE!_

Ramaru appeared behind Haru, attempting to cut him, but Haru dodged it.

The three ninja continually mess with the four, savoring the helplessness of their prey, or at least three of them. Though everyone else got hit, Haru somehow dodged every blow.

"You're pretty good, wuss." Kizuna said, suddenly appearing behind Haru and delivering a roundhouse kick to his head. Once again, Haru dodged the attack. Kizuna quickly disappeared again.

"You guys rely too much on plain sight!" said Haru as he sidestepped Ramaru's kunai blow. Haru, being born without eyesight, never became dependent on his vision. It didn't matter if the ninja were hiding or not, not to Haru, who relied on the four other senses.

Senzo, who had been slapped in the face for the fifth time (Two slaps from Kizuna, two from Irigi, and once from Ramaru.), decided that he had enough.

"Sight!" he shouted as he swung his staff. A fireball appeared in front of him and started orbiting around his body.

The fireball passed Senzo's front and showed Irigi's face in its light, and eventually, showed his entire body.

"Gotcha..." Senzo said with a smile. He pulled out a gemstone and held it in his hand. The gemstone began to glow bright red and eventually catch fire. Senzo threw the flaming gem on the ground where he was standing and shouted, "_Flamma Columen_!"

A huge spout of flame burst from the ground and swallowed up both Senzo and Irigi. The flame shot up endlessly like a tower to the heavens. When the flame died, Senzo was still standing and Irigi was down. Irigi was still able to squirm and struggle after Senzo's fire pillar; he was lucky to be alive.

Suddenly, there were voices coming from nearby. The chatter was getting louder by the second. Soon, there was a crowd watching the battle. "The detectives are fighting the killers!" one man shouted.

Senzo was mad now, He grabbed the fireball that orbited him and held it up in the air. "Sightrasher!" he shouted, as the fireball split apart and flew in eight different directions. As the fireballs flew, Kizuna and Ramaru were revealed as well.

Kizuna and Ramaru see Irigi lying on the ground, and then see Senzo. They get ready to throw their kunai at Senzo when...

_BANG! BANG! (ping! ping!)_

The kunai are shot out of their hands. They look behind them to see Yoshiro, guns drawn and smirking smugly.

"Wipe that smile off your face." said Ramaru, though he was smiling as well. He then pulled out a fuuma shuriken and threw it at Yoshiro.

"Gaaah...!"

"Spex!"

"Yoshiro!"

"Oh, my!"

The giant shuriken struck Yoshiro in the belly. Its blade went in deep. Yoshiro couldn't speak; he simply fell backwards and didn't move. The crowd fell silent.

"An eye for an eye, outlaws." said Kizuna. Ramaru ran over to Irigi and teleported Irigi and himself away. Kizuna looked at Haru, and then disappeared as well.

Suzuka, Haru, and Senzo all gathered around Yoshiro, followed by the crowd. Senzo pulled out the shuriken, but caused the wound to bleed even more. Yoshiro was slowly losing color now, because of his blood loss.

"We need a priest!" shouted Haru, "Quick!"

A priest rushed over to the crowd and put his hand over the wound and muttered, "Heal..."

The wound glowed with a green light, but didn't close. "I-I can't... The wound is too severe..." said the priest.

"No!" Senzo shouted. He looked down at Yoshiro's body and shouted, "Wake up, Spex! You've had worse than this!"

Then, Suzuka had an idea. "Father," she said to the priest, "Take my hand. Everyone, join your hands together with me! Please! He needs all of our help!" The crowd did as she said and joined hands with Suzuka, with Suzuka grasping the hand of the priest.

"Heal him, father." she told the priest.

The priest placed his hand over Yoshiro's wound and muttered, "Heal..."

The wound shone with a bright neon green light that could be seen from a mile away. The light faded, and Yoshiro regained consciousness; the wound was gone.

"Wha... whahappin?" asked Yoshiro as he opened his eyes.

Senzo, Haru and Suzuka gave a sigh of relief.

The priest stared at Suzuka. How did she do it?

"What did you do?" asked the priest to Suzuka.

"I'm a Soul Linker," said Suzuka, "I linked us all so that we could lend you our power."

As Suzuka said this, the people realized that they suddenly became tired.

"Who were those people you were fighting?" asked the priest.

"They were the killers." said Senzo as he helped Yoshiro up.

"How did you know it was them?"

"This note..."

Senzo handed the death threat Kizuna wrote to the priest. As the priest read it, Suzuka could see his eyes grow wide.

"They were after _you_?" asked the priest.

"Y-yes, sir." said Yoshiro. Remembering their plan, Yoshiro continued, "You see, father, we have a price on our heads... a high price. We were accused of murder, and we decided to prove our accusers wrong by serving Midgard as vigilantes... I am Kuroya Yoshiro, and these are my fellow outlaws, Taisen Senzo, Masaki Suzuka, and Ozawa Haru."

The crowd didn't break out and chase them. Yoshiro was a bit surprised since he was almost ready to run. The crowd didn't look threatening and at the same time, they didn't look threatened. Realizing this, Suzuka asked everyone to sit down and listen to their story...

A few hours or so later, the Four Outlaws were walking along the shores of Comodo. Yoshiro was the only one walking in the water, slinging his boots by the laces over his shoulder as he walked.

"Awesome." Yoshiro said simply, patting his tummy in appreciation of the saving heal he got earlier.

"We made a lot of friends here, huh?" said Haru.

"Yeah, almost half of Comodo beleive us now... Do you think our names will be cleared soon?" asked Suzuka.

"Not quite yet." said Senzo, "But at least we know we're always welcome here..."

"Always." said Suzuka.

* * *

-_end of chapter_

_Don't worry, I'm not killing off Yoshiro, lol._

Note: I edited Senzo's spells and translated them to latin so...

"_Flama Columen" _means Fire Pillar


	12. Interrogations

**Fun Fact:** Senzo's character was made and designed by none other than my good friend Leonhart Zero. (You'll find it funnier when you find out his real name.)

Chapter 12... With special appearances from Jinzan and Alex of marbzdude's The Legendary Chronicles!

* * *

Yoshiro was sitting at the docks talking to an old fisherman while Senzo was in a casino feeding his newly developed gambling problem. Suzuka was in the hotel and Haru was in the casino, looking after Senzo. They were both holding fishing poles.

"Tenma Kanjoudakai..." said the fisherman, "Or in English, the Demon Mercenaries."

"So that's what they're called, huh?" said Yoshiro, who was still unlucky with the fish, "That name suits them. Those guys have no remorse for killing. I feel pretty bad for the receptionist at the hotel."

"You four were lucky. Those guys have never failed before... Oh! I got a bite!"

The fisherman's line began to tug hard. The fisherman stood up to get more leverage and pulled harder. Yoshiro dropped his pole and got up as well to help the fisherman pull.

Yoshiro tugged on the line violently while the fisherman reeled with all his might...

"WHOA!" Yoshiro shouted as they fished out a tuna that was probably five feet long.

"Whoa, Nelly! The wife's gonna give me some sweet lovin' tonight!" cheered the fisherman.

"Oookay..." said Yoshiro, who was given a little too much information.

They both collapsed on the wooden floor of the docks, with the fisherman wrestling the wriggling tuna into submission. The fisherman sat up and placed the tuna on his left side. Yoshiro sat up as well.

"Oh, boy. Look at her, kid." said the fisherman, eyeing the flopping tuna with delight.

Yoshiro looked at the fisherman with a concerned expression.

"Wait... they never failed before?" asked Yoshiro, "You mean they always killed their targets?"

"According to the news, kiddo." said the fisherman, turning his head to Yoshiro.

"So... We're the first of their targets to survive? I'm honored!"

"I'd watch my back, though. I'm guessing those ninja aren't the types who settle for less than a hundred percent."

"Thanks, I'll do that. I don't want another shuriken in my gut... hahaha!" Yoshiro said as he got to his feet.

"One more thing!" called the fisherman as Yoshiro walked away, "Stay discreet! The citizens of Comodo trust you, but not the authorities."

"Thanks, sir. Don't worry about us!" Yoshiro replied, turning to give the fisherman a two-finger salute before walking off.

Yoshiro headed to the casino to check on Senzo. Suddenly he heard a commotion.

CHAPTER 12: INTERROGATIONS

"Hey, what's going on?" asked Yoshiro as he walked into the casino. Senzo was in front of a blackjack table. Suzuka was by his side, pulling him by the ear while Haru tried to restrain him.

"We're leaving, Senzo!" yelled Suzuka.

"Aw, come on! Just one more!" said Senzo, trying to get Haru off him, "Hit me!"

Suzuka smacked him in the back of the head.

"Ow!" yelped Senzo, rubbing the back of his head, "I was talking to the dealer... and let go of my ear!"

The dealer lay down a card. Senzo looked down at it.

"Yes! Twenty-one! I win!! Ow!" Senzo cheered while he was being violently tugged by Suzuka.

"Just cash those in so we can leave before you gamble all our money away!" said Suzuka.

Senzo obeyed, scooping up the chips and placing them in his rack. They walk up to counter to cash in the chips.

"Another win, Senzo?" asked the lady at the counter.

Senzo was on a roll at the blackjack table, but somehow, he was feeling lucky about something else...

"I guess having a cute girl around makes me lucky!" said Senzo to the lady.

"_He'd better be referring to me..._" Suzuka thought, "_I look a lot cuter than that tramp!_"

"Oh, what do we have here? 'Zuka's getting jealous?" Yoshiro sneered.

"What?!" Suzuka yelled defensively.

"Don't hide it, 'Zuka. You threw your head back and clenched your fists when he said it."

"No, I didn't-!" Suzuka started, but then she thought, "_Did I?"_

"Hey, where'd your boyfriend go?" Yoshiro asked, noticing that Senzo was gone.

"He said he was going to the café to buy some bottled water." said the counter lady.

Upon hearing this, Yoshiro shuddered in fear. "Bottles again!?" he yelled.

He ran as fast as he could out of the door.

Haru and Suzuka could hear Senzo conversing with someone when suddenly...

_AAAGH!_

Moments later, Senzo returned with his face pale white.

"Senzo, what happened? Yoshiro already ran out the door." said Suzuka.

Senzo suddenly grabbed Suzuka by the waist and placed his head on her shoulder, muttering "Hetero good, homo bad... hetero good, homo bad..."

Suzuka was trying to push him away, though not trying so hard. She was red as Senzo's hair now.

"Senzo, get off me! People are looking at us!" Suzuka said, resisting Senzo's embrace and at the same time, savoring the moment.

A bard started prancing out from the café entrance. He had crew-cut blonde hair and his clothing looked tighter than standard.

"Oh, Senzo! Why do you avoid me, my love?" called the bard.

Senzo lifted his head and saw the bard. "AAAGH!!" he yelled as he watched the bard prance towards him.

The bard saw Senzo hugging Suzuka and glared at Senzo. "What is the meaning of this?!" he asked, placing his hands on his hips in a very disturbingly feminine manner.

"Don't you get it, Lyndon?!" yelled Senzo, "I'm straight! STRAIGHT!!"

"Senzo's being chased by a gay man?" said Haru as he heard the voices.

"'Gay man'!?" yelled Lyndon as he looked at Haru, "I'm a woman born in a man's body! I wanted to be a dancer, but no! They said it would look awkward!"

"'Awkward' is a huge understatement." commented the blackjack dealer.

Lyndon hissed at the dealer upon hearing his comment.

"Senzo, you promised to marry me!" said the Bard.

"_Whoa!_" chorused everyone in the room.

"I never promised anything and for the last time, I'M STRAIGHT!!" Senzo yelled, suddenly kissing Suzuka on the lips.

Everyone in the room froze.

"Is it safe yet?" Yoshiro asked as he popped his head in through the door, only to find Senzo and Suzuka locking lips. "Dammit, this is so good, I can't even think of anything to mock them with..."

Yoshiro decided it would be best to wait outside and not mention anything about what he just saw.

Lyndon looked at Senzo and Suzuka and burst into tears, running back to the café.

Senzo broke off the kiss and took his winnings in a large sack which he slung over his shoulder. "Let's go." he ordered. He, Haru and the now dumbstruck Suzuka walked out of the casino. Yoshiro was waiting for them at the door.

"Hey..." Yoshiro started carefully, getting ready to run if Senzo got mad again.

They silently walked up to a nearby Kafra.

"Hey, there sweeties. What can I do for you? Would you like your storage, a warp service, or a cart for the cute Alchemist?" asked the Kafra.

"Prontera, please." said Yoshiro.

"Sure thing, sugar!"

The Kafra opened a portal below their feet. It began to glow white.

"Thank you for using the Kafra teleport service." said the Kafra, "We have been asked to inform you that the warp portals are currently unstable and may warp you to a completely random location within the designated area. Take care, sweeties!"

"What?!" Senzo yelled.

Too late, the portal had already engulfed them in white light.

All four of them felt like their cells were breaking apart and scattering in the wind. It wasn't painful, but it wasn't quite pleasant either.

When Senzo regained his senses, he found himself in a corner of a room that had its walls and floor covered in tiles. He heard the sounds of flowing water and the chatter of female voices.

"Oh, no..." he muttered. He looked to his right and saw, with his own eyes, the bare naked body of a young woman, who was frozen in shock.

Senzo stared for a moment, but was finally able to say...

"Oh, yes..."

Meanwhile, Yoshiro also found himself in the corner of a tiled room. He heard no voices, just the splashing of water. He looked down to his side and saw a pair of pink panties. He was in a women's bath!

"Oh, yes..." he muttered. His bliss was short lived, however, because as he looked up, he saw the naked figure of a man with short brown hair and blue eyes.

The man stared at him with a menacing look.

"Aw, no...!" Yoshiro groaned.

Senzo was in a dimly lit room alone with a knight. The knight had spiky hair and brown eyes. His uniform sported a unique-looking coat of arms. The knight was watching Senzo closely. Senzo and the knight were sitting at a small table facing each other.

"What were you doing in the women's bath?" asked the knight.

"It was an accident, man." said Senzo indifferently.

"Entering a room and sitting in a corner is hardly accidental." said the knight.

"It was a bad warp portal."

"You expect me to believe that?"

"You look easy to convince..."

"Are you saying I'm dumb?"

"Maybe."

"Do you know who you're talking to?!" yelled the knight, standing up.

"Do I have to?"

"Kiryoku Jinzan, Ace Knight of Prontera!" said the knight, jabbing his thumb towards himself.

"Ace knight or not, I'd still kick your ass! Taisen Senzo, wanted for murder!" yelled Senzo, standing up as well.

"The one on the flyers? No way! You look like a punk, not a killer."

Senzo and Jinzan glared at each other. Senzo sat down and sighed.

"Look, Jinzan, if you want money, it's in the bag." Senzo said, pointing at the corner where his bag was placed.

"Sorry, dude, but as an honorable knight, I don't take bribes."

Senzo had to think of _something_... What would someone like him want?

"Want me to tell you what I saw?" asked Senzo.

"Oh, please do, man!- Uh, I mean... No."

There we go.

"Okay, Mr. Honorable, how about this?" Senzo pulled a thick envelope from a pocket in his cloak and handed it to the knight. "Bought them in Comodo. I tell you, Jinzan, they sell everything down there!"

"What do you mean?" asked Jinzan as he opened the envelope. "Whoa!" gasped Jinzan when he saw the contents: nude pictures of sexy women, which Senzo bought from one of the stores in Comodo.

Suddenly, another knight appeared at the door of the room. "Jinzan, Alex wants to see you."

Jinzan looked at the knight, quickly hiding the pictures behind his back. "I'll be right there!"

He looked at Senzo and said, "You're dismissed. Don't trespass again, you little... pervert."

Senzo took his bag, slung it over his shoulder, gave a snort, and walked out the door.

Meanwhile, Yoshiro was also in an interrogation room with the man he wished he hadn't seen naked. The man was actually a crusader, and a powerful-looking one, too.

"L-Look, sir, it was an accident." Yoshiro said.

"What's your name?" asked the crusader.

"K-Kuroya Yoshiro-" Yoshiro held his breath. He accidentally revealed his identity!

"The murderer? You look like a wimp to me."

"...H-Huh!?"

"What were you doing in the men's bath?"

"Bad warp portal, sir!"

"Look, if you liked what you saw, just say so..."

"WHAT!? What the HELL ARE YOU SAYING?!"

"Well, you look like it... with your long hair and..."

"Shut up! What were those panties doing in the men's baths, huh?"

"One of my guys loves doing panty raids... wait, don't change the subject!"

"Look, sir, I'm no pervert and I'm not gay! Me and my friends took an unstable warp portal and I just happened to end up in your bath."

"Your friends? That explains the wizard in the women's baths..."

"Senzo's here too?"

"Very funny. 'Senzo', one of your fellow killers."

"Sir, please, this was a big misunderstanding."

"Right."

The crusader suddenly reached out to Yoshiro's chest and pinched his nipple hard, twisting and pulling.

_YAAAAAAARRRG!!_

Yoshiro's cries echoed through the entire castle.

"LET GO! PLEASE LET GO!" Yoshiro screamed.

"Don't trespass in Prontera Castle again." said the crusader, releasing Yoshiro from his grip.

Yoshiro stood up, holding his nipple, as Jinzan entered the room.

"You wanted to see me, Alex?" asked Jinzan.

Yoshiro walked up to Jinzan, "Your friend is a psychopath!" he growled. Yoshiro walked out of the room.

"Dude... don't tell me that noise was..."

"It was, Jinz. It was." said Alex, "Now how about we head to the bar?"

"Alright... but you can't just keep using that 'disciplinary method', dude, it's inhumane."

Yoshiro and Senzo met at the entrance of the castle.

"Spex! How are you?" called Senzo, "Have you seen Haru and Suzuka?"

"No... Let's just get outta here and look for them..." Yoshiro replied grumpily.

"Guess what; thirty minutes ago I saw heaven. It was fucking awesome, man."

"Yeah? Thirty minutes ago I saw hell!" Yoshiro yelled. "...and felt it, too..." he added, clutching his nipple.

* * *

_-end of chapter_

_Ouch..._


	13. Beat It

Sorry about the delayed update, you guys. I just felt abandoned cos nobody reviewed in weeks...

"Where could those two be?!" Yoshiro asked sarcastically, "Prontera isn't so big!"

"Calm down, Spex, your whining isn't helping..." said Senzo.

Yoshiro knocked his own forehead with his knuckles in annoyance.

"We've been searching for an hour..." Yoshiro groaned, "I just wish something interesting would happen, at least to break the boredom..."

Suddenly, a young thief sped past them. Senzo looked at the thief, then at his shoulder.

"He took my winnings!" gasped Senzo.

Yoshiro looked up to the sky. "Why do you only grant the stupid requests, huh?!" he yelled.

They both pursue the kleptomaniac.

* * *

CHAPTER 13: BEAT IT

Suzuka was following a trail. Not physical, but spiritual, meaning Suzuka was following a spiritual presence.

"Where _are_ you three?" Suzuka thought to herself.

The energy was leading to the fountain. When she arrived there, she found Haru, patiently sitting on one of the benches.

"Haru!" she called.

Haru gently turned his head to Suzuka.

"Hey, Suzuka, I'm glad you're alright. Have you found Senzo or Yoshiro?" asked Haru.

"No, I can't even feel them." said Suzuka, "They're probably too far away."

"There's another way..."

"What other way is there?"

"Remember last night?"

Suzuka thought, and suddenly remembered. She shook her sleeve and out came the glass sphere containing the scout flower.

"But we don't have anything from Senzo or Yoshiro to feed it..." she said, rolling the sphere in between her fingers.

"Are you sure, Suzuka? Didn't you and Senzo kiss back at the casino?" asked Haru teasingly.

"How did you...!"

"Analysis of the situation and simple logic, that's all."

"What do you...?"

"Everyone fell dead silent, Senzo's stalker ran away, crying, Senzo simply said "Let's go," and you didn't say a word until we were out of Comodo. It's pretty obvious, Suzuka."

"Well... what's the kiss got to do with anything?"

"Check your shoulder."

Suzuka did as Haru said and checked. Sure enough, there was a way to track them: Senzo's hair.

Suzuka plucked the hair off her shoulder, opened the Scout Flower's container, and fed it to the plant.

"It's spinning..."

"Where's the thorn pointing?"

"Behind us. Come on, Haru! Let's find Senzo!"

Haru got up and walked alongside Suzuka.

"But wait..." said Suzuka, "What about Yoshiro?"

"He's with Senzo already."

"What? How do you know?"

"amielrox told me..."

"Haru! Dammit, don't break the fourth wall here!"

"Sorry... What I meant to say was..."

"Yes?"

"It's purely instinctive, a gut feeling."

"What's this? An alchemist relying on a hunch?"

"Yes, I am relying on a hunch, Suzuka."

They continue following the Scout Flower's thorn.

Meanwhile, Senzo and Yoshiro had the thief cornered. At the thief's sides were a rogue and a bard. The rogue had one foot planted on a wooden box that had a hole in one side.

"Give me back my money!" Senzo ordered.

"Oh, this bag's full of cash, huh?" asked the Rogue. "Good job, Randall." he told the thief. Randall smiled and placed the bag behind the box.

"Hey, fruitcake!" Yoshiro called to the Rogue, "You mind giving us back our zeny, or are you gonna keep flirting with your boyfriends?"

"We're brothers." said the bard. The bard wasn't lying. All three of them had similar faces and all had jet black hair. "And this is our turf and in our turf, we follow the rule of the jungle, 'Finders, keepers.'" he added.

"'Finders'?? More like 'Snatchers'!" yelled Senzo.

"Alright, here's the deal." said the Rogue, "Have you ever heard of Cajons?"

"Yeah. What, you don't think I know my own balls?"

"Not 'cojones', you dumbass! I'm talking about the instrument!" he took his foot off the box. "I'm referring to this here beauty." he patted the box's top.

"That's an instrument?" asked Yoshiro.

"We're known well in the underground music scene. We don't make much off our gigs, so... we do a few 'side jobs.'"

"You mean you grab people's bags and hope to live off what's in them?' mocked Yoshiro.

"Hey you open your mouth again, and I'll be shoving this lute up your ass!" said the bard.

"I don't think your boyfriend would like you cheating on him!"

"Alright! break it up!" said Randall. "We're giving you a chance to get your money back."

"That's right." said the Rogue, "If you beat me in a Cajon battle, you get your cash back."

They gave it a bit of thought...

"Alright! I've played a few percussion instruments before..." said Yoshiro. He was suddenly grabbed by the shoulder from behind.

"Wait." said Senzo as he pulled Yoshiro backwards. "I'll do it. It's my money."

"But... alright."

"Leo, give little red here his Cajon." the Rogue said to the bard.

"Sure, Paul." said Leo. He pulled the box drum out from a dark corner in the alley and slid it over to Senzo.

Paul sat on his Cajon and Senzo did the same.

"You get the general idea of how to play this, don't you?" asked Paul. "You just slap the front face in between you knees."

"Yeah, I got it." said Senzo as he took off his gloves. "So, how does this battle work?"

"We keep playing until the other guy chokes. Not literally, it just means that he can't think of any more beats."

"Alright, alright."

Yoshiro watched worriedly. Senzo may have the luck of the Devil at the casino tables but this was a contest of skill. If Senzo lost, they would be brought back to stealing their dinner.

"I'll go first." said Senzo.

Senzo did a fast beat with various pauses and rhythm shifts. Everyone was surprised. Even Yoshiro never expected Senzo to be a natural with rhythms; it just didn't fit his wild character.

But Paul responded with an even better beat. Paul could actually make his drum rolls sound like pouring rain.

The two kept responding to each other's beats, rhythms getting more and more complex with each turn. It seemed like it was never going to end.

Meanwhile...

"Hmm... music!" said Suzuka as she heard the rhythms of a few percussion instruments.

"A few bards must have come here." said Haru.

Back at the alley...

Finally, Paul played a beat Senzo couldn't match. Paul smiled at Senzo's shocked face.

"You're better than I thought. You're a natural, but I can tell this was your first time." said Paul. "I tell you what, Senzo. If you give up now, I'll let you have half your money back."

"(Take it!)" Yoshiro muttered to Senzo from the corner of his mouth.

Senzo's head drooped in hopeless defeat. Half of the money was more than enough to sustain them, but money wasn't Senzo's issue here.

"I'm not doing it for the money, Spex." said Senzo.

"What? Than why did you want to face him?"

"Pride, man. Pride."

Senzo looked up at Paul. "No deal, man!" he said, "If you think I'm gonna bow out just like that? I've made it this far, and I'm not giving up now!"

Meanwhile, nearby...

"The music's getting louder and louder." said Haru.

"The scout flower's pointing to that alley over there." said Suzuka.

They walk towards the alley...

"Hey, the music stopped." said Haru.

They enter the alley...

"Senzo! Yoshiro!" Suzuka called as she saw her two companions.

"Hey!" Yoshiro called back.

Senzo saw them and got up to greet them.

"There you are!" he said.

"Hey..."

Senzo turned around to see his bag tossed to him. He caught it in surprise.

"...You have potential, red." said Paul. "You're reckless as hell, but you have potential."

Senzo smiled at them.

Paul, Leo and Randall each took a butterfly wing out of their pockets.

"Take care of yourselves." said Randall.

"Next time, guys." said Leo. "And watch your mouth cos it's gonna get you killed someday." he said to Yoshiro.

"I don't mind." replied Yoshiro cheerfully. "It let me live long enough, haha!"

"We look forward to seeing you again." said Paul.

"Likewise." said Senzo

"Just don't snatch our stuff again, klepto-club." Yoshiro said to them.

They crushed the wings in their hands. The wings turned to dust that enveloped the three brothers. When the dust faded, they were gone.

"Who were those guys?" asked Suzuka.

"A few new friends." said Senzo.

They walk off. Where? No one knew, not even them.

"You're crazy, Senz." said Yoshiro. "If you lost, we'd be screwed."

"I'm crazy?" replied Senzo. "You're the one who made a vow of chastity for a dead girl!"

"Heh, you're right. We're _all_ crazy, then."

* * *

_-end of chapter_

_Don't mess with the Outlaws_


	14. Markings on the Wall

Chapter 14 is up and I'm damn sleepy.

* * *

Prontera Inn, 3:07 AM, Room 28

_CRASH! CRASH! BONG! BONG! BOP! CRASH!_

"DAMMIT, SENZO...!" Yoshiro yelled. "Yes, you play good, alright...? But that kind of music isn't exactly a lullaby...!"

Yoshiro was in bed with bloodshot eyes. After finally falling asleep, he and Haru were once again awakened by Senzo's new box drum.

"Senzo... you're playing is getting out of hand..." said Haru. "Couldn't you hear Suzuka banging on the wall from her room... telling you to keep it down...?"

"I thought I was playing so good, she couldn't help but join in!" said Senzo, smiling.

They heard some loud stomping...

...and Suzuka burst into the room with unbrushed, undone hair, wearing her nightdress.

"TAISEN SENZO YOU GOOD FOR NOTHING... DON'T YOU KNOW WHAT SLEEP IS?!" yelled Suzuka.

"Hey, Suzuka. I like your nightie, it shows a lot of leg."

"It DOES NOT!"

"Oops, I guess it was just my imagination..." said Senzo.

Suzuka's violent rants and Senzo's indifferent replies were interrupted, however...

"EEK!" shrieked a lady's voice suddenly. It came from downstairs.

Suzuka stopped yelling and turned her head to the source of the sound.

"What was that?" asked Haru, suddenly snapping out of his sleepy state.

"Probably a late reaction to Senzo's box drum racket..." Yoshiro joked. His voice still sounded drowsy.

Haru reached for his blindfold on his bedside table.

"This is serious, Yoshiro." he said, tying the blindfold over his eyes.

"Let's check it out." said Senzo, sliding his cajon to a nearby corner. He took his staff which was leaning against the wall.

"Dammit, we never get a rest..." said Yoshiro, climbing out of bed. He took one of his guns from one of the drawers and tucked it into the waistband of his pajama bottom. He felt too lazy to tie his long, messy hair. He took his glasses from the drawer as well, wiping them with his shirt.

"Yoshiro, hand me my axe, please." said Haru as he got out of bed.

CHAPTER 14: MARKINGS ON THE WALL

They climbed down the wooden stairs. The first floor of the inn was so dark, they couldn't see a thing. Senzo snapped his fingers and lit a small ember to shed some light on the place.

Everything seemed fine, contrary to the shriek they heard earlier. What could have happened?

They heard a strange rumbling noise...

A group of people ran towards the lobby where Yoshiro and company stood. The first floor was where the staff slept, so most likely, they heard the scream as well. The lights switched on.

They saw that the staff were holding bats, curtain racks, and other weapons they could find.

"What was that noise? Why are you up so late?" asked the old man who was standing by the light switch. He was holding a broom in his hand, suggesting he was the handyman.

"Which noise...? The scream?" asked Yoshiro, "Or Mr. Virtuoso here?" he pointed at Senzo.

"Both!"

"Sir, we can explain the racket... but we're just as clueless as you are about the scream."

One of the staff members looked around, noticing there was on member missing. "Where's Melissa?" he asked.

"Melissa!" exclaimed the old man. Anxious, he ran across the hall and opened one of the doors. "She's not in her room!" The old man walked back to the others, trembling. "Somebody took her..."

"Roger, please calm down..." said one of the crowd. He was probably the manager.

"Don't tell me to calm down!" yelled Roger. "My granddaughter is missing!"

Roger was shaking. He couldn't believe that his dear Melissa was abducted.

Suzuka then turned and saw something strange on the wall.

"Mr. Roger?" Suzuka said, "You might want to look at this."

Roger, along with everyone else, looked at the wall and saw them, circles that have been carved into the wall. They were in an unusual pattern.

"What's that?" wondered Yoshiro.

Haru walked up to the markings and felt them with his fingertips. "It must be a code. Somehow, it seems familiar."

Haru sighed and took his hand off the wall. He couldn't decode it.

"What do we do now?" Yoshiro asked.

"We find them." said Haru, "And this message is our first lead."

"How do you know it even means anything?" asked Senzo.

Haru turned his head to Senzo. "Because Sensei may have introduced me to this code. I just can't remember."

They decided to think it through.

Eventually, the sun rose.

"So... what do we do now...?" asked Yoshiro after emptying his fifth cup of coffee.

They were sitting in one of the tables of the inn. They were talking about what happened last night, and how they're going to find the mysterious kidnapper. A waiter came over to their table and served them their breakfast.

"Sorry if it don't taste so good," said the waiter as he placed down their plates, "Melissa was our cook, until she was kidnapped."

The breakfast for today was sausage and scrambled eggs, served with garlic rice.

"They weren't too shy about the garlic huh?" Suzuka whispered to the other three as she eyed the garlic rice, which looked more garlic than rice.

"Goddamn, it's salty!" yelled Yoshiro as he took a bite from his sausage, "Oh, well..."

Despite his repulsion, Yoshiro leaned forwards and gobbled his meal. In less than a minute, his plate was clean. Senzo and Suzuka stared at him in utter disbelief.

"What?" asked Yoshiro as he saw his friends' faces while he wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

"You're gonna die of a heart attack before those ninjas find you, Spex." said Senzo.

"No, I think he'd choke on his food first." said Suzuka.

Word of Melissa's kidnapping spread quickly. That afternoon, almost everyone who knew Melissa knew about it.

Yoshiro, Senzo and Suzuka were in the guys' room. Yoshiro was on the workbench cleaning the insides of his guns. Senzo was sitting on his box drum, and Suzuka was sitting on one of the beds.

"Is Haru still downstairs?" asked Senzo.

"Yeah, I think he's got a crush on that wall." said Yoshiro, reattaching his guns' slides.

"Do you really think the markings mean anything?" asked Suzuka.

"If they were carved in that pattern, then they'd have to!" said Senzo.

"Yeah, 'Zuka." agreed Yoshiro. "We should check on him."

They all agreed. Yoshiro reassembled his pistols and went downstairs with Senzo and Suzuka.

"Guys, I've cracked it." said Haru after he heard their footsteps. His hand was feeling the markings. "It's the Braille coding system."

"What's 'brail'?" asked Yoshiro.

"It's a system of writing used by the blind," Haru replied, turning his head to them, "and this here is a ransom note."

"A ransom note?" asked Senzo.

"Yes."

"You think the kidnappers are blind too?"

"Definitely."

"What does it say, then?" asked Suzuka.

Haru read the code out loud, tracing his fingers across the markings, "_We have the girl...If you want her back alive, leave 4 million Zeny behind Prontera church... If you send a single knight or crusader..."_

"What? What does it say?" asked Suzuka.

"_...we'll cut her throat."_

"Aw, man..." said Senzo.

"They're threatening to kill her?" asked a voice from behind them. The four turned and saw that it was Roger. His face was expressionless and his skin was pale.

"Sir..." Yoshiro started. He wanted to say something to make Roger feel better, but he couldn't find the words. Instead, he walked out the front door.

Senzo, Suzuka, and Haru went after him.

"Spex, what's up?" asked Senzo as he stepped outside.

Yoshiro didn't say anything. He had his back turned to them and his hand seemed to be at his mouth.

Suzuka walked up to Yoshiro and turned him around. "Yoshiro... are you smoking?" she asked.

Yoshiro had a lit cigarette in his mouth. Seeing their surprise, he took it out, dropped it on the ground and stepped on it to put it out. He let out a fit loud coughing.

"(Cough) I'm sorry... (Cough)" said Yoshiro. Smoke was spouting out of his mouth.

"Damn, Spex, you smoke like a virgin." said Senzo.

"I _am_ a virgin, Senz."

"Why'd you walk out on that guy?"

"I didn't walk out."

"Huh?"

Yoshiro wordlessly turned around and walked away. Senzo ran after him.

Senzo ran up to Yoshiro's right side. "Spex, where the hell are you going?" he asked.

"Melissa meant the world to Roger, Senz. I can't let those kidnappers do this to her."

"Are you going after them?" asked Senzo with a tone of anticipation in is voice.

"Yes. I'm going to Prontera Church."

"And you were gonna leave us here?" asked Haru's voice. It turns out Haru and Suzuka followed him as well.

"Kuroya Yoshiro, you selfish bastard!" said Senzo, "You can't just hog all the action to yourself!"

Yoshiro smiled at them.

"Let's go. That girl needs us."

* * *

-_end of chapter_

_Would it kill you guys to write a review? lol, joke._


	15. For His Granddaughter

Hey, guys! This is one of my serious chapters.

* * *

They all agreed and set off to Prontera Church together. On the way there, they were formulating a plan.

"We'll think of something eventually..." said Haru.

They passed by the busy streets. Yoshiro and Senzo ripped every wanted poster off of every wall they passed, just so that nobody would recognize their faces.

They arrived at the front of the church. Yoshiro looked up to the cross on its roof and whispered, "_I'll be needing your help again..._"

Senzo looked up to the cross as well. He did the sign of the cross and lifted his hands in prayer. Though nobody could call him the nicest in the party, he was quite religious.

Senzo handed his bag over to Haru and Suzuka. "Go around the back go in through there. Leave the bag outside." he said.

"Me and Senzo are gonna go in through the front." said Yoshiro. "They won't expect us to get them from both sides."

They nodded their heads. Haru and Suzuka headed to the back.

Yoshiro and Senzo looked at the grand church door.

"You ready, Spex?" asked Senzo.

"We're never ready," replied Yoshiro, "but we're going in, anyway."

CHAPTER 15: FOR HIS GRANDDAUGHTER

Moments later, inside the church, a female rogue and a female blacksmith were sitting in a pew. The rogue had long red hair and the blacksmith had a gray ponytail. They were both wearing blindfolds. Sitting between them was a young girl with blonde hair, hands bound behind her and gagged. She was wearing her nightgown.

"Oh, what's the matter, Melissa?" asked the Rogue with a sadistic tone, running her fingers through her victim's hair, "Do you want to go home?"

Melissa nodded her head with closed eyes.

"Oh, you can only go home when somebody gives us the ransom..." said the blacksmith, as she caressed Melissa's cheek.

Then, a huntress entered the church from the back door. She had short brown hair and wore a blindfold as well. She was carrying a big bag on her shoulder.

"Looks like they had a decoder." said the huntress.

The blacksmith stood up and took the bag. She unzipped it and spilled the contents on the floor. The sounds of the falling coins echoed around the church halls.

"This is hardly four million." said the blacksmith. "I'd say about 300 grand."

"Oh, poor Melissa..." said the rogue. "They can't be cheap when making a deal with us... I guess you'll have to die, honey..."

She kissed Melissa's cheek and drew her knife from her hip...

"You want your four million?" asked a voice from across the hall.

It was Yoshiro. Senzo was at his side with his staff held out in front of him.

"Here we are." said Senzo.

The rogue laughed. "Oh my, Melissa! Looks like your knights in shining armor have arrived!"

"You two have the money?" asked the blacksmith, not looking at them.

"We _are_ the money." said Yoshiro. He felt tense and worried, he wanted to make sure Roger wouldn't have to suffer the loss he suffered 13 years ago. "We have a 4 million zeny bounty on our heads."

"Oh, that makes it interesting! So what should we do now...?"

"You're gonna set her free." Yoshiro said, pointing one of his guns at the rogue.

"Too bad. I was so looking forward to spending more time with you, Melissa." said the Rogue.

The rogue flipped her hair and adjusted her blindfold and stood up.

"Sit this one out, Pearl." she said to the blacksmith.

"Whatever, Ruby. Me and Melissa will be fine right here..." said Pearl, tickling Melissa's ear.

"Spex, is it just me or are these kidnappers a little too... friendly?" asked Senzo.

"Scumbags are all the same to me." Yoshiro said with a tone of anger.

_TWANG!_

"Fire Wall!"

The arrow that was about to hit Senzo passed through the fire wall and caught fire. All that hit Senzo's chest was ash.

"See what I mean?" said Yoshiro.

"Don't be so hasty, Ebony!" said Ruby. "If you want to kill them, at least grant them a beautiful death."

As Ruby said this, she disappeared into the shadows.

"Just what we need," said Senzo, "another vanisher!"

"You boys are here to save her?" asked Ebony. "I feel sorry for her..."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" yelled Yoshiro.

Suddenly, Yoshiro felt an arm wrap around his waist. He could feel the cold sharp tip of a knife at his neck.

"A man with this much fire deserves to die in a woman's arms." said Ruby.

"You seem angry today. 'Spex', was it?" asked Ruby. "Are you a bad boy? Because I really like bad boys..."

"Only my friends can call me 'Spex', lady!" spat Yoshiro, not minding the blade Ruby was holding.

"Oh, so I'm not your friend?" Ruby asked teasingly. "What do you want me to do, so we can be 'friends'?" she whispered in his ear.

"Let go of me, you harlot!" said Yoshiro, elbowing Ruby and sending her to the floor.

"Did you just hit me?!" gasped Ruby. "Pearl! Ebony! Playtime's over!"

As she said this, she disappeared again.

Pearl stood up from the pew and picked up her sword from the altar. Ebony took an arrow from her quiver and loaded it into her bow.

"We have backup of our own." said Senzo. "Haru! Suzuka! Now!"

Suzuka ran out of the confession box and pointed her hand at Ebony.

"Soul Missile!" she shouted.

A white jet of light shot out of Suzuka's palm and hit Ebony on her cheek, knocking her down.

Suddenly, Haru dropped down from one of the trellises along the church walls, landing behind Pearl. His axe was in his hand.

"Boo." he said.

Pearl turned around and swung her sword at Haru's neck, but missed. Haru sidestepped the next few strikes. She swung for his knees, shoulder, and pretty much everywhere else, but hit nothing but air.

"Your moves are unusual, boy." said Pearl.

It was Haru's turn to counterattack. He took his axe and swung at her, but his blow was blocked. He swung five more times, but every strike was parried.

_CLASH!_

Both Haru and Pearl were locking blades, each trying to overpower the other. Pearl let go of the sword with her left hand, still able to hold off Haru's axe with the other. She reached over to Haru's face and pulled off his blindfold.

"I knew it..."

"No!"

"You were the one who read our message."

"Haru!" called Suzuka. She pointed hear hand at Pearl's face and fired another Soul Missile, but Pearl simply bent her neck to the left and it missed.

Haru turned his head to Suzuka. His eyes had no pupils, but he was quite handsome. "Suzuka! Don't worry about me! Help Yoshiro and Senzo!"

Suzuka turned her head to Yoshiro.

"Zuka, behind you!" said Yoshiro, pointing to Suzuka's rear.

"Huh?"

Suzuka turned around. She jumped backwards just in time to avoid the slash of Ebony's hunting knife.

As they fought, Senzo once again swung his staff to use Sight. The fireball orbited around him, but revealed no one.

"Senz! Forget about the flirt for now! 'Zuka needs help!" said Yoshiro.

Senzo ran towards Suzuka and readied his staff to cast a spell.

Yoshiro ran towards Haru and spun his pistols in his fingers (sorry, I don't know the term for that move.), and pointed them at Pearl.

A big four on two fight happened. Or at least it seemed like four on two. Pearl and Ebony were still very deadly. All throughout the fight, there was no sign of Ruby.

Moments later, chips of wood were scattered on the floor, arrows were stuck on every wall, most of the linens on the altar were burned and the pews were decorated with bullet holes. But that wasn't the last of their divine vandalism.

Senzo ran towards Ebony with his hand held out. His hand glowed red and burst into flames as he readied his spell. Suddenly...

"Senzo! Don't step on the-!"

"Huh?!"

_**BOOM!**_

The pews were scattered all over the place and stained glass was blown out of the windows. The church was in ruins because of Ebony's claymore trap.

Everyone was down. Ebony was crawling, Senzo was half-conscious, and the rest were completely motionless. Wait, no. Not _everyone_ else. Yoshiro came out from behind one of the chunks of debris. He started looking around for anyone who was strong enough to talk.

"Over here!" called Melissa's voice.

Yoshiro turned his head and saw Melissa. Her gag was undone, but her hands were still tied up. He quickly ran towards her, but something stopped him.

"Gah!" he yelped, as a bear trap caught his ankle. It was another one of Ebony's traps! Its teeth were able to bite through his boots, so the trap wounded him.

When he kneeled down to try to pry the trap open, he saw a pair of feet wearing high-heeled shoes materialize in front of him.

"Hello, Spex..." greeted Ruby's voice.

"You!" Yoshiro snarled as he looked up to the blindfolded woman's face.

"Poor you. You've come all this way to feed your egotistic thirst to be a hero."

"'Egotistic'?!"

She pointed her knife at Yoshiro's face.

"And now, you've failed."

Checkmate. Yoshiro was beaten.

"Fine! Kill me! Just let the girl go home!" he said.

Ruby kept silent.

"You know... I have no reason to let her go."

"What?!"

"I could kill you and collect my four million either way, right?"

Yoshiro couldn't believe what he was hearing. This woman doesn't care about life at all!

"You bitch!"

Ruby walked over to Melissa, knife in hand.

"No!" Yoshiro yelled, pointing his left hand gun at Ruby.

_CLICK_

"Huh?!" he pointed his right hand gun.

_CLICK_

"_Oh, no..._" he thought. As he watched Ruby walk towards Melissa, he heard a voice echo from his head.

"_Yoro-kun, don't!_" cried the voice.

"Please... don't!" Melissa pleaded.

"Leave her alone!!" Yoshiro yelled. "She has a family waiting home for her! Please!"

Ruby gave Melissa a heartless, sadistic smile and laughed at Yoshiro's desperate cries...

"Please... I beg you..." Melissa said softly.

Yoshiro heard more sounds echo from his head...

"_You don't like my glasses? Fine!_"

"No... you'll kill her...!" he said to the voice.

_BANG!_

"NO!!"

Ruby thrust the blade into Melissa's heart.

* * *

-_end of chapter_

_Didn't expect THAT, did ya?_

NOTE: Soul Missile is a spell I made for Suzuka so that she would be more useful in fights. Sorry, but like I said in my profile, this was meant to be completely original. Suzuka was actually supposed to be a spirit charmer. I guess it was my mistake to make her a Soul Linker, haha.

But whatever, you love her anyway, right?


	16. Forgiveness and Realization

Melissa's body went limp. She was slumped against Ruby with the knife protruding from her back. Melissa was murdered, and Yoshiro had to watch it happen.

Ruby smiled and tossed Melissa's body aside, face down. Yoshiro was breathing uneasily, and it wasn't because the bear trap clamped up even harder on his ankle.

Ruby was right, he failed. Maybe this needn't have happened if he was more prepared. He couldn't help but blame himself for the tragedy.

As his strength faded as he struggled to open the trap, he had a flashback:

CHAPTER 16: FORGIVENESS AND REALIZATION

Yoshiro was fifteen years old He was 7 inches shorter and he was much chubbier (The baby fat went away as he grew older.). He was standing next to Tori in a secluded spot in the woods, facing a brick wall. Yoshiro was holding a six shooter in his hand.

_BANG!_

"Did it hit, Sensei?" asked Yoshiro.

Tori chuckled and shook his head.

"Of course not, Yoshiro! You expect to hit that can from a hundred meters away?"

"...I thought I was getting better..." said Yoshiro with a tone of disappointment.

"I said you were getting better, I didn't say you were a deadeye!"

Yoshiro shook his head.

"Yoshiro, why are you so eager to learn the one thing that..."

"Killed Angel?" Yoshiro said, finishing Tori's sentence for him..

"Well, yes."

"I want redemption, Sensei. I want to do something good with this gun." he said, looking at the pistol in his hands.

"Which is?"

Yoshiro was silent for a while, but then he answered, "I want to be a protector."

Tori smiled.

"I know it sounds stupid, Sensei, but I want to make sure nobody else has to feel what I felt."

Tori placed his hand on Yoshiro's shoulder and said, "There are millions in this world who are losing their lives and tens of millions more who are losing their loved ones. You can't help all of them, boy."

Yoshiro didn't answer. He simply raised his gun and aimed.

_BANG!_

The can fell.

Yoshiro turned his head to Tori and said, "I can try, Sensei."

After his younger self said this, Yoshiro's head went back to the present.

"_I couldn't save her... Roger's lost her..._" he thought. "_Sensei was right... I can't help them all..._"

Ruby laughed at Yoshiro. "How pathetic you are!" she said, taunting him.

"Shut up! Shut up, you heartless witch!" Yoshiro yelled.

Ruby walked up to Yoshiro. Melissa's blood still stained her knife.

She violently grabbed Yoshiro by the collar and whispered in his ear.

"Your friends will be next..." she said with a tone of cold malice.

Yoshiro glared at her, looking at her blindfolded eyes.

"Any last words?" Ruby asked.

Yoshiro looked over Ruby's shoulder and smirked at her. "Yes, I do."

"Say them, then."

"...You're screwed."

Ruby cried out in pain as a spear was hurled into her back. Her grip on the knife loosened. She let go of Yoshiro's collar and fell sideways on the cobblestone floor. Dead.

Yoshiro looked at the crowd of knights and glared. Why did they arrive so late? His anger, however, was soon forgotten when he saw a grieving old man running into the church. That man was Roger.

"_I'm sorry..._"

Yoshiro whispered that apology in his head. It was the only thing he thought he would be able to say to Roger.

Roger ran over to Melissa's body. He turned her upright and embraced her.

"Oh, Melissa..."

Yoshiro could hear Roger's silent lament. He kneeled down and with all his might, pried the trap open. His leg was bleeding, but that was the least of Yoshiro's distresses.

He walked past Roger. He knew someone like himself couldn't comfort him. It wasn't his place to, anyway, he failed her. He walked over to his fallen friends. He helped Haru get up, but Haru couldn't stand, so Haru just sat down on the floor. Yoshiro walked over to Senzo, who was conscious now. He helped Senzo up and told him the news. Senzo bowed his head in pity. Yoshiro sighed and woke up Suzuka. Suzuka brushed herself off and looked at Roger.

"Wow..." she said, "he's really... torn."

"I know." said Yoshiro, "I don't know what to say..."

Yoshiro was no longer speaking with a cheerful, carefree tone. His voice was full of guilt and regret.

Suzuka thought for a moment.

"What are you thinking, 'Zuka?"

Suzuka didn't answer. She walked over to Roger and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Mr. Roger..." she started, "We're sorry we couldn't save her..."

Roger ignored Suzuka, but she went on.

"I just want you to know, sir, that before a spirit departs into the afterlife, it is given time to say goodbye to its loved ones."

"I... I don't w-want to s-say goodbye!" said Roger. "She's all that's left to me!"

"I'll start the prayer now." said Suzuka. She took her prayer beads in her right hand and closed her eyes.

"H-how could they do this to her? T-to me?"

Roger's sobs were stopped, however.

"Don't cry, Grandpa..." said a voice coming from in front of the altar.

Roger looked up. He saw Melissa's spirit.

"Melissa?"

"These four people did their best to save me. They put up their lives for mine, and I will appreciate that to the end."

"Miss, I'm sorry, I couldn't save you..." said Yoshiro.

Melissa smiled at him and said, "It's okay. You did all that you could and I can't thank you enough for that. Even with a bear trap biting into your leg, you still did everything you could. You and your friends came in here and lay down your life for me, a complete stranger. Thank you, sir."

"But..."

"Hey, don't worry!"

"Why did this happen, Melissa?" asked Roger.

"Things happen, Grandpa. No matter how careful you are, things can happen. I'm sorry I have to leave you like this."

Melissa's spirit began to float upwards.

"Melissa!"

"I'll watch over you from now on, Grandpa. I love you."

"I love you, Melissa..."

Melissa's spirit was engulfed in light, then it burst and scattered into the sky.

Roger wiped a tear from his eye, looked up and said, "Goodbye, Melissa."

"Don't say goodbye, Grandpa. There's no such thing."

Melissa spirit could still be heard as it flew up to the heavens.

The outlaws began to walk out of the church. Haru was being carried by Yoshiro and Senzo. At the door, they were stopped by the knights.

"We need a witness testimony." said the knight.

"You want a testimony?" asked Yoshiro, "Talk to the huntress over there." he jerked his head towards the lying Ebony, and continued to walk.

"Hey wait! We need to see your ID's!"

The knight was ignored, but before they turned at the corner, Senzo pulled a crumpled paper ball out of his pocket and tossed it at the knight.

The knight picked it up, but didn't open it until the four were completely out of sight. When he opened the paper ball and read what was inside, he smiled and said, "I knew it was them."

He looked at the horizon. "_So the rumors were true._" he thought.

Yoshiro, Senzo, Haru, and Suzuka were walking along the grassy fields of Prontera.

"I guess we learned something today, huh?" said Yoshiro.

"What's that?" asked Haru.

"This isn't a fairy tale. Lives are in our hands and we need to take our jobs seriously from now on."

The three others nodded.

"Where to now, Spex?" asked Senzo.

Yoshiro took a coin from his pocket.

"Heads, we go to Payon. Tails, we visit Geffen."

Yoshiro flipped the coin. It landed on his palm.

Yoshiro looked at the coin and smiled.

"There you have it. Let's go!"

_-end of chapter_

* * *

It's the last day of vacation for me and I'll be focusing more on my studies, so I won't be updating so often anymore. I'll just have you guys know that this isn't the end. I've signed an imaginary contract with myself that this would be a 25 chapter story, just check in on this story every two or three weeks, 'kay?

Peace out for now,

DesperadoY

PS: Don't forget to go to my page and vote on my poll: "Who's Your Favorite Outlaw?"


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